Why N258m was found in our Abuja vault – Sterling Bank

Sterling Bank has faulted claims by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) over the newly designed naira notes stashed in its Central Business District (CBD) complex in Abuja.

The ICPC had stated that the bank kept the fund in its vault instead of loading it into the ATM. However, in a statement yesterday, the lender’s Chief Operating Officer, Raheem Owodeyi, stated: “This report is developed for the purpose of providing the true representation of events to the misleading narrative as expressed by the ICPC in a tweet late on Tuesday, 07 February, 2023.”

According to the statement, a monitoring team visited the regional centre of Sterling in Abuja on February 3, 2023 and that during inspection, the team observed that the bank’s Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) were dispensing all the denominations of the newly designed banknotes and also allowed customers to withdraw cash over-the-counter in accordance with stipulated pronouncements.

Owodeyi stated that officials of the bank informed the monitoring team and officials of the ICPC of the presence of the sum of N258,000,000 in the vault – as the branch served as a hub for the distribution of cash to other branches in the region: Utako, Wuye, Seda Close, Kontagora and the National Assembly.

The statement further disclosed that, “Upon their visits to the Utako and Wuye branches, the monitoring team reviewed the records submitted for the movement of cash from the CBD branch to other branches served within the region.

“It is important to state that cash was being paid over the counter at the branches and the ATM terminals were dispensing the newly designed denominations during the monitoring exercise.”