NIGERIAN EMBASSY WASHINGTON D.C
NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL AT NIGERIAN EMBASSY SAYS USA GOVT AS THESE 2 BIGGEST BANKS IN USA BLOWS A WHISTLE ON EMBASSY.
US-Nigeria Showdown over Frozen Nigerian Embassy Accounts
Prof Tony Adebowale Adefunye. and Obama
US SAYS NO COVER UPS!! DUE PROCESS MUST TAKE PLACE
The United States said Wednesday it will ignore a request by the Nigerian government ordering Bank of America and Wells Fargo to unfreeze its embassy bank accounts in Washington DC and New York, setting the stage for a potential showdown with Nigeria
also threatening to reciprocate by freezing the US embassy accounts in the country.
Bank of America, M&T Bank and Wells Fargo received instructions to close the accounts of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington and its consulate in New-York on suspicions of money laundering after traffic on the various accounts raised a red flag.
Huhuonline.com understands that about $3.6 million dollars was said to have entered and left the accounts in under a month; the latest transaction being the withdrawal of $50,000 in hard cash by the Nigerian Ambassador to Washington, Prof Tony Adebowale Adefunye seen below who is now in a HOT SEAT.
In rejecting the Nigerian request, a State Department source told Huhuonline.com that:
“The Nigerian embassy was unable to respond to requests for clarification about payments and transactions into the account and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accounts are being used as channels for money laundering and other financial crimes…
it’s not just a Nigerian Embassy issue, it’s an issue that affected two other African Embassies.”
“The Nigerian embassy was unable to respond to requests for clarification about payments and transactions into the account and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accounts are being used as channels for money laundering and other financial crimes…
it’s not just a Nigerian Embassy issue, it’s an issue that affected two other African Embassies.”
THE SHAKARA BY NIGERIAN GOVT.
But Abuja is not the least amused by the decision and has threatened to retaliate by freezing all US embassy accounts in Nigeria. "We must not accept the illegal decision to shut down legitimate embassy accounts simply because we are in America," a source at the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry told Huhuonline.com. Asked whether Nigeria will go the extra mile to institute retaliatory action which could be interpreted as a declaration of war, the source retorted: "I don't know if it's an act of war, but it's outside all norms of international behavior…we'll see what happens when push comes to shove," said the Nigerian official involved in managing the crisis.
Huhuonline.com learnt that the US Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Department of Treasury set up an intelligence capability months ago unknown to Nigerian Embassy officials to monitor wires and traffic in all the accounts operated by the embassy. The agencies alongside the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) an analytical unit within the Treasury Department responsible for monitoring wire transfers led the investigations. FinCen operates by integrating and analyzing information from a wide range of sources, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to link disparate bits of data and thereby reveal patterns that are indicative of illegal or money laundering activities.
Since the closure of the bank accounts, the Nigerian embassy has been grounded as it can no longer conduct regular embassy business, such as paying bills and salaries of diplomats. As part of efforts to resolve the issue, Huhuonline.com learnt from sources that the Auditor-General of the Federation and a team of auditors arrived last week from Nigeria to begin auditing the accounts of the embassy. It also emerged that Nigerian embassy officials have attempted to open new bank accounts with other American banks but all banks approached so far politely declined their business. Nigerian Embassy officials, frustrated and running out of options, are considering reciprocity measures, such as closing the bank accounts of the U.S Embassy in Nigeria.
However, in a bid to put a spin over what has turned out to be an undue embarrassment to Abuja, the Head of Chancellery at the Nigeria Embassy in Washington, Mr. Folorunsho Ajadi denied that the Embassy operates any official accounts with Bank of America and Wells Fargo, adding that none of its accounts were frozen.
Ajadi stressed that the Nigerian embassy does not engage in money laundering, adding that the problems with accounts of African missions in the United States was not peculiar to Nigeria alone, but started with Angola in 2010.
THE NIGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES ADEBOWALE ADEFUNYE IS NO DOUBT IN A HOT SEAT
THE NIGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES ADEBOWALE ADEFUNYE IS NO DOUBT IN A HOT SEAT
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