The Chairman, Union Bank, Mr Farouk Gumel, has dismissed the report that he, and three other persons are being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a $300 million facility to acquire Union Bank as untrue.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 15th Annual Banking and Finance Conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Abuja yesterday, Gumel said: “We are not being investigated, there is no truth in that report.”
An online platform some days back stated: “EFCC, DSS and NFIU are investigating the President of Afreximbank Prof. Benedict Oramah and others over a $300 million loan given to politically exposed individuals to acquire a significant share in Union Bank.
On June 6, 2022, Afreximbank announced that it had disbursed $300 million to help complement the total amount needed by Titan Trust Bank to finalise the acquisition of Union Bank.
Titan bank recently acquired Union Bank, using Tropical General Investments Limited (TGI) as the Special Purpose Vehicle for the acquisition.
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While delivering his keynote at the conference, Gumel said Union Bank “is well over a century old- 105 to be precise – but it is majorily owned by Tropical General Investments (TGI), whose operations in Nigeria started 42 years ago”.
“The success of TGI has been built on agriculture, food, household consumables and industrial chemicals. The organisation has repositioned itself to develop new opportunities, to add value and to create wealth,” he said.
He noted that “Cornelis Vink, our founder, understood very well the principles behind ‘Glocal’. His vision – and success – was to build a partnership between the best of what he knew from the international scene with the particular opportunities and talent that Nigeria and the region has to offer”.
The success TGI has had over the years – bringing together global with local – he said “gave us the confidence and resources and vision to go into banking as the next step. Already, we were working with thousands of outgrower farmers, wholesalers and distributors – providing them with inputs and products on credit. Banking was a logical progression. We fully understand the importance of banking in any economy”.
“TGI’s successes to date couldn’t have happened without the support of our bankers – many of them are here in this room today. Therefore, I must thank all of you for helping TGI and many others like us to transition from traders to importers and ultimately, the manufacturers we have become today,” he told the audience.