Femi Otedola recently discovered suspicious activities in his company’s Zenith Bank account, 13 years after the transactions occurred, thanks to a whistleblower within the bank. The billionaire businessman’s dispute with Jim Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, over an alleged multibillion-naira fraud has intensified. According to TheCable, Otedola accused Ovia of unauthorized trading in the account of Seaforce Shipping Limited in 2011, without his knowledge or consent, a serious breach of trust.
The Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) is currently investigating these allegations, while efforts are being made to resolve the matter amicably. Despite Seaforce Shipping’s inactivity since 2010, its account was allegedly used for unauthorized trading. Otedola claimed that Seaforce never applied for or received a loan from Zenith Bank, yet billions of naira worth of transactions continued in the account.
Zenith Bank was reportedly unable to provide crucial documents, such as offer letters for the alleged loans, raising questions about the transparency of their operations. Upon confronting bank officials, Otedola received an apology, according to an online newspaper.
Otedola presented a letter from Zenith Bank dated March 19, 2018, to Seaforce’s auditors, stating a debt of only N2,278,420, conflicting with a bank statement showing N5 billion. The statement indicated a debt of N2.9 billion on the same day, differing from the letter signed by Taofik Bashir (internal audit control) and Edwin Kind Olie (group head, telecom). Transactions amounting to over N16 billion occurred in Seaforce’s account from 2011 to 2024.
Otedola questioned who made payments to reduce the supposed debt from N16.9 billion to N11 billion, as he was unaware of these transactions. Significant credits appeared in the account on various dates in 2011. Currently, Seaforce’s debt stands at N5.9 billion, primarily due to interest charges.
The investigation has made progress, with a senior bank official already questioned by the police. This marks a crucial step in uncovering the truth behind Seaforce’s financial discrepancies. Meanwhile, Otedola and his companies have obtained a federal high court injunction against Zenith Bank and associated entities, preventing them from trading shares or paying dividends until the hearing of the motion for an interlocutory injunction.