PREMIUM TIMES
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has uncovered a multi-million-dollar fraud allegedly perpetrated by top officials of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON). The anti-graft agency’s discoveries came from an extensive investigation into the suspicious use of funds allocated to NAHCON for Hajj operations over the years.
The details of the EFCC’s findings emerged from an investigation report newly obtained by PREMIUM TIMES. A review of the document, first reported by PUNCH newspaper, revealed that the EFCC’s investigation dates back to 2022 after an operative of the anti-graft agency, who served on the NAHCON Central Security Committee that year, hinted at several infractions in the use of the Hajj commission’s funds.
Some of the irregularities highlighted in an intelligence report submitted by the EFCC insider after the stint on the NAHCON security committee include the payment of estacodes to staff for a study tour that never took place and payment for a consultancy service that was not rendered, among others.
Subsequently, the EFCC said it wrote to NAHCON, highlighting lapses in its administrative process and providing necessary advice while also investigating the lead its operatives provided.
The document said that along with the unnamed EFCC operative’s intelligence report, the anti-corruption agency also received petitions from some concerned NAHCON staff members. The EFCC received seven petitions from the staff members against their chairman, Jalal Arabi, and the commission’s secretary, Abdullahi Kotangora.
The agency’s investigation also named Haruna Magaji as a suspect. We have yet to ascertain his relationship with NAHCON.
The intelligence report alleged “a multimillion-dollar case of conspiracy, misappropriation and mismanagement of pilgrims funds paid for the 2022 Hajj operation” by top officials of NAHCON.
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The anti-graft agency said that while investigating these allegations, it received another petition against the current NAHCON chair, Mr Arabi.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Arabi had been detained since Wednesday. This was after the anti-graft agency grilled him and released him on bail on 29 July.
That same Wednesday, some top officials of the commission were also arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged mismanagement or diversion of Hajj funds.
The EFCC stated in the document that estacodes were paid to some NAHCON staff members for a study tour to Indonesia that never took place. The anti-graft agency said it had recovered the funds, although it did not state the amount.
The investigation also led to the recovery of funds paid to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd for a consultancy service it never rendered.
The money paid as consultancy service to the company was purportedly “for debt recovery of the sum of Saudi Riyal (SAR) 20,637,908.23 (SAR20.6 million) from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Saudi Arabia.” The company reportedly received 7.5 per cent of the purportedly recovered debts.
In its findings, the anti-graft agency explained that the Saudi Arabian government refunded NAHCON SAR20.6 million for services that were either poorly rendered or not rendered to some Nigerian pilgrims and tour operators at Masha’ir in December 2023.
The rites performed by the pilgrims at Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina are collectively called al-masha’ir al-muqaddasah or masha’ir in Arabic.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Saudi Arabia paid the funds in four tranches into NAHCON’s IBAN account on 27 December 2023.
EFCC said that after the payments by the Saudi authorities, Mr Arabi, the NAHCON boss, “fraudulently” contracted Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd as a consultant via a letter of award dated 24 January 2024. The company was purportedly engaged to “recover” the money already received in the commission’s account.
The firm purportedly facilitated the recovery of SAR20.6 million from the Saudi authorities and was paid SAR1.7 million (SAR1,780, 019,59) as part payment for the “service”.
However, further investigation revealed that the award letter for the contract for which the firm was paid 7.5 per cent consultancy fees was issued after the Saudi government refunded NAHCON.
“Investigation revealed that all supporting documents for payment of the consultancy services, including the Executive Chairman’s approval, were fraudulently backdated to 23 January 2024 to enable the payment of the sum of SAR1,780,019.59 to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd on the 14 April 2024,” the investigators revealed. The document claimed that Mr Arabi confessed that the consultant did not render the service. Mr Arabi is not yet available to comment on the claim.
It is unclear what they could have planned to achieve by backdating the documents to 23 January, at which time the Saudi government had already paid NAHCON the money the contract was meant to recover.
EFCC also said its investigation showed that a meeting of the Expanded Transitional Exco was held on 25 January with seven members and 18 staff members of NAHCON in attendance.
During the meeting, the payment of the consultancy services to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd was not discussed, according to the investigators.
“The commission’s secretary (Mr Kontagora) slotted the approval for the payment of the 7.5 per cent consultancy to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd in the minutes of Expanded Transitional Exco meeting as item 10 under AOB to enable the perfection of the documentation to steal the funds,” the document stated.
The anti-graft agency, however, said Mr Arabi has confessed that the consultant Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Lid has refunded SAR 1.78 million (SAR1,780,019.59) into the NAHCON SAAB account domiciled in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
It added that about SR 1 million “SAR 1,026,000), equivalent to about N430.9 million (N430,920,000), was equally recovered from Eastern Gulf Company.
The investigators also revealed that the 2024 budget allocated specific operational costs for key officials: $4,250 for the chairman/CEO, $12,750 for commissioners, $3,825 for secretaries, and $15,300 for directors/chief of staff.
EFCC discovered that Mr Arabi paid himself SAR 50,000, far above the SAR15,929 he was entitled to.
Similarly, the three commissioners received SR40,000 each instead of SAR15,929, while the secretary was paid SR30,000 instead of SAR14,336.
The investigation also showed that the directors and the chief of staff were overpaid, receiving SAR30,000 each, when they were only entitled to SAR2,550 each.
According to EFCC’s findings, one Abubakar Muhammed Lamin withdrew SAR22.8 million (SR22,815,367.74) in cash from the NAHCON’s British SAAB account in Saudi Arabia during the 2024 Hajj.
Out of this, “the total sum of SAR8,614,175.27 (SAR8.6 million) cash withdrawal is yet to be accounted for by NAHCON,” the investigators said, adding that the expected recovery is SR 314,098 which is equivalent to N131,921,160 (N131.9 million) on or before 16 August.
The investigators said the refund of SAR18,857,888.11 and SR314,098 is also being awaited.
According to the investigation, NAHCON maintains two offshore accounts: the IBAN-E track Saudi Arabia payment platform and the British SAAB Account.
The IBAN-E track payment platform, created by the Saudi government, operates like an e-wallet. It was designed to receive basic payment for each pilgrim to secure visas. The Saudi government monitors the account.
The British SAAB account is used for all other payments and any other balance payments for accommodation, transport and feeding to the service providers.
EFCC said fraud was discovered in the NAHCON British SAAB Account.
It said, “The payment of SAR1,780,019.59 (SAR1.78 million) to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Lid for the purported consultancy service was made from the NAHCON British SAAB account.”
The federal government gave NAHCON N90 billion as Hajj subsidies and operations costs for the 2024 pilgrimage to Mecca.
The investigators found that out of the N90 billion, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deducted about N1.76 billion (N1,764,705,937.62) as bank charges.
Subsequently, the sum of N88.2 billion (N88, 235.294,063.72) “was converted into United States dollars at the rate of N1,416.13 (to $1), which amounted to $62.3 million ($62,307,164.48) and after that transferred into NAHCON British SAAB Account in Saudi Arabia.”
The sum of $62.3 million was further converted to Saudi Riyal at the rate of $1 to SAR3.748, which amounted to SAR233.5 million (SAR233,527,252.47).
“The opening balance of the IBAN- E track for 2024 Hajj activities was SAR19.8 million (SAR19,813,810.89) and has an inflow of SAR485 million (SAR485,000,000) from NAHCON with a closing balance of SAR78.985 million (SAR 78,985,266.03).
“The closing balance is inclusive of the SAR20,637,908.23 (SAR20.6 million) refunded from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Saudi Arabia,” the investigators explained.
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