The Management of Dangote Industries Limited has doused the concerns of stakeholders following the visit to its office in Lagos by the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) saying it was ready to assist the Commission in its Investigations.
The foremost Indigenous Conglomerate in a statement disclosed that it received a letter from EFCC on December 6, 2023 requesting for details of all the Foreign exchange allocated to it by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from 2014 to present day.
Describing the request from the EFCC as not being peculiar to Dangote Group, the Company management said’ “We understand similar letters were sent to 51 other Groups of Companies requesting for same information spanning same period”.
According to the statement, Dangote Group responded to the EFCC to acknowledge receipt of the letter whilst seeking clarification on the subsidiaries or companies within the Group that they required on. It also requested for additional time to compile and properly present extensive documentation spanning ten years.
“However, the EFCC did not provide the clarification sought and also did not honour the request for an extension and insisted on receiving the complete set of documents within limited time frame.
The management of Dangote Group stated, “Despite this constraint, we assured the EFCC of our commitment to providing the information and pledged to share documents in batches as we complete the compilation.
According to Dangote Group, “On 4th January 2024, our team delivered the first batch of documents to the EFCC. However, officers to the EFCC did not accept the documents, insisting on visiting our offices to collect the same set of documents directly.
“Whilst our representatives were still at the EFCC’S office to deliver the documents, a team of their officers proceeded to visit our office to demand for same documents in a manner that appeared to cause unwarranted embarrassment. Worthy of note is the fact that the Officials did not take any documents or files from our Headquarters during their visit as this were already in their office
“We must emphasize that to our knowledge, no accusations of wrongdoing have been made against any Company within our Group. At present, we are only responding to a request for information to assist the EFCC with their on going investigation”.
Stating its resolve to continue to play its role in stimulating the domestic economy, Dangote Group declared, “As a law – abiding and ethical Corporate citizen, we remain committed to providing the EFCC with all necessary information and cooperation. We have already delivered the first batch of documents and actively working to compile and submit the remaining documents in good time to aid their investigation.
“Our Group is a key contributor to the national GDP, the largest employer in the private sector, one of the largest groups listed on the Nigerian Exchange and one of the highest taxpayers in the Country.
We remain steadfast in our belief in Nigeria’s commitment to the rule of law and its dedication to fostering an environment conducive for both local and foreign investors.
The Company then called for the understanding and patience of all stakeholders and promised to inform them of any further developments.
