17 September 2018 : After the MTN-drama, HSBC Holdings Plc is now getting all the lime-light. This is the story of how a Johannesberg based analyst David Faulkner working for the London based lender, commented that a win for Buhari in February’s elections “raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration, prolonging the stagnation of his first term.” The comment that was published on July 18, has spread like wildfire.
Investigations revealed that the Bank laundered north of $100 million for Sani Abacha- a military dictator in Jersey, Paris, London and Geneva. The Bank has now resorted to mudlslinging on the current President to save its own ulterior motive.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Garba Shehu, Banks like HSBC have blatantly supported the rampant looting of state resources by leaders
‘First side of the coin’
It’s quite obvious that after President Buhari has come into power, corrupt individuals and entities with corruption as their pillars, are now petrified, as their offenses which were earlier either hidden or supported are now being bought under investigation. HSBC “is also suspected in the laundering of proceeds of corruption involving more than 50 other Nigerians.”
HSBC
Evidently, the main opposition of the current government People’s Democratic Party quoted HSBC’s research saying that a Buhari victory “portends grave danger” for the country. The article was published in order to slander the current president, but unfortunately the comment backfired on them.
‘Second side of the coin’
Although since there are always two sides to a coin, the other side suggests that It’s possible the government is right in its claim but it completely missed the point because the issue HSBC raised had nothing to do with criminal or non-criminal activity.
Regulators have long accused the world’s biggest banks of helping manage the illicit fortune accumulated by Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. In 2001, a U.K. financial watchdog said 15 lenders showed “significant control weaknesses” in handling $1.3 billion linked to him and his associates. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice froze more than $458 million in funds allegedly generated through corruption hidden in bank accounts: including at HSBC, Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG, in what it described as the “largest kleptocracy forfeiture action” in its history.
Reporting for EasyKobo on Monday , 17 September 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria