Dangote Industries Limited has allayed stakeholders’ concerns following the recent visit by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to its Lagos Head office.
The foremost indigenous conglomerate issued a statement stating its readiness to collaborate with the Commission in its investigations.
In the statement, Dangote Group revealed that it received a letter from the EFCC on December 6, 2023, requesting details of all foreign exchange allocations from the Central Bank of Nigeria dating back to 2014.
Emphasising that the request was not unique to Dangote Group, the management noted that 51 other conglomerates received similar letters seeking information for the same period.
Dangote Group promptly responded to the EFCC, acknowledging receipt of the letter and seeking clarification on the specific subsidiaries or companies within the Group for which information was required.
Additionally, the company requested an extension of time to meticulously compile and present the extensive documentation spanning the past 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 the limited timeframe,” the statement said.
“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 4 January 2024, our team delivered the first batch of documents to the EFCC. However, officers of 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 offices to demand for the same documents in a manner that appeared designed to cause us unwarranted embarrassment. Worthy of note is the fact that the officials did not take any documents or files from our Head office during their visit as these 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 ongoing investigation.”
Stating its resolve to continue to play its key 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 are 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 investment and value creation 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.
