Jan.18, 2010, 03:14AM

Former chief executive of Oceanic Bank, Cecilia Ibru, is keeping the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission busy across five countries where it has since confiscated about 103 units of property, worth trillions of naira.

In a statement over the weekend, the agency lists a string of assets made up of landed property and company shares, which have been seized pending the outcome of the court case instituted against Mrs. Ibru, who was last year sacked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The commission had since brought charges of money laundering against the former bank executive.

According to the commission, Mrs. Ibru's assets in Nigeria, Dubai, South Africa, U.S. and U.K., will remain frozen until the trial is concluded.

"We are just securing these assets pending the determination of the criminal charges against her in the law court," a source in the commission, who asked not to be named, said.

Confirming the action, Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson of the commission, said the action was taken in line with the law.

"It is an execution of the rights conferred on the commission by Section 28 of the EFCC establishment Act," Mr. Babafemi said.

The case against Cecilia Ibru

Mrs. Ibru is currently standing trial for money laundering and other charges brought against her by the commission between August and October. The initial charges of granting unsecured loans brought against Mrs. Ibru were amended in October, 2009, to include fresh money laundering charges.

Sources within the commission also revealed to NEXT that Mrs. Ibru also had some loan facilities from the Oceanic Bank linked to her. "The woman has some exposure in the bank [Oceanic Bank] to the tune of N235 million already. You must remember that this is depositors' and shareholders' funds. The action by the EFCC is also to cover the exposure," a source in the commission said.

"We are securing the assets to forestall attempts to dispose of the assets. If the assets are not secured now, there is the likelihood that she might sell them and if she is eventually convicted and she has to forfeit these assets, it might prove another difficulty to retrieve the assets," the commission operative said.

Assets and Property

According to the statement by the commission, Mrs. Ibru's assets include about 6 billion Oceanic Bank shares held under about 25 different companies. Mrs. Ibru also owns shares in Nigeria's biggest telecom company, MTN, valued at aboutN5 billion at the time of purchase.

Mrs. Ibru's landed property in Nigeria are vast; In Lagos, the EFCC has linked 16 in Ikoyi, 5 in Victoria Island, 8 in Lekki Peninsula, to the former bank chief. The commission also listed about 11 property in U.S. and 27 shops in Dubai. According to the commission, some of these assets were bought with funds from ‘Oceanic Bank International Plc.'