…recommends prosecution of promoter
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recommended the prosecution of the promoter of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, after investigations established that neither he nor the organisation had any legal backing from the Federal Government.
The commission also uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect and identified institutional lapses across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that enabled the fraud.
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday after presenting an interim report of the investigation to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and later briefing journalists.
According to him, investigations established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authorised government institution and that the so-called Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, also referred to as the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or other valid instrument of government.
“The appointment letter presented by Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged, alongside similar documents used to perpetrate the illegal activities of the fake agency,” Aliyu said.
He said investigators uncovered widespread impersonation, false representation and other illegal activities carried out in the name of the fake agency.
Aliyu further disclosed that the probe uncovered two additional fictitious agencies allegedly floated by the suspect: the Foreign Capital and Wealth Investment Promotion Agency (FCWIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, forged legislative instruments styled as enabling Acts were used to create the agencies and facilitate the opening of commercial bank accounts through which their activities were conducted.
He explained that the suspect later altered the name of the original fake organisation from the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in an apparent attempt to expand its scope and encroach on the mandates of legitimate government revenue-generating agencies.
Aliyu said the commission had concluded the investigative phase of the case after obtaining statements from the suspect and other persons linked to the alleged fraud and was now preparing criminal charges.
“We have interacted with Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi. He is among the persons we interviewed. We took his statement, noted everything he told us and drew our conclusions from the evidence before us. The investigation has now progressed to the criminal stage. We are rounding it off and preparing to file charges in court,” he said.
Responding to questions on allegations involving about N400 million reportedly linked to the case, Aliyu declined to comment, saying the issue formed part of the ongoing criminal investigation.