If you think the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would dig into the allegations of tax evasion and money laundering levelled against national leader of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, by Mr. Dapo Apara, estranged ex-Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Beta, a consultancy owned by Bola Tinubu, perish the thought.
The petition dated July 6, 2018 was leaked to the media after it dawned on the petitioner that no meaningful action would be taken on the matter by the anti-graft agency. Those conversant with details of the saga disclosed that EFCC authorities were unwilling to probe the petition which chronicled mind-blowing heist allegedly perpetrated by Tinubu’s company.
Alpa Beta, a consultancy owned by the former Governor of Lagos State has been fingered in a N100billion fraud bordering on tax evasion and money laundering in the petition.
According to Apara’s petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Alpha Beta “has become an avenue for official corruption of government officials, a conduit pipe for massive money laundering scheme, tax evasion, among other vices”.
Apara was said to have raised the red flag on several occasions about what he perceived to be shady dealings of the company but he was said to have been frustrated each time he tried to point out greys areas in the books of the company. This consistently put him at loggerhead with the authorities particularly with Asiwaju Tinubu, the chief promoter of the company.
This standoff was said to have driven Apara to take the case to the EFCC. However, a senior staff of the company dismissed the petition as ‘empty’. When reminded by our reporter about the tiny details in the petition, he said the allegations would be difficult to prove because “everything we do here follows due process of the law”.
EFCC insiders said the agency is not likely to address the content of the petition as it would not want to rock the boat for President Muhammadu Buhari who now enjoys the priced support of Tinubu ahead of the 2019 elections.
In the petition, sent on his behalf by Adetunji Adegboyega ESG, his solicitors, Apara said: “Over the years the company is being protected and shielded by some powerful politicians and people in the society which made them to always boast of being untouchable, but our client, feeling the need not to keep quiet again and strengthened by his belief in the fact that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is keen on fighting corruption, which has been the bane of our country, is of the firm belief that it’s time to expose and open the can of worms called ALPHABETA CONSULTING.
“Our client is of the firm belief that it is time for the commission to step in and con duct a holistic investigation into the activities of ALPHABETA CONSULTING LIMITED AND ALPHABETA LLP, with a view to uncovering the massive corruption, money laundering, tax evasion etc going on in the company. Kindly note that one of the companies being used to perpetrate money laundering by the company is still another company named Ocean Trust Limited.
“The only hope of our client and indeed the teeming Nigerians who are victims of the crimes being perpetrated by these companies, in seeking justice is the commission, which we strongly believe in and therefore call on the commission to cause a holistic investigation into this case and all involved with the aim of bringing these criminals to justice, and not allow their claims of being untouchable to be validated.
“Kindly note sir that as our client is willing and able to provide information to substantiate the claims, though, we will plead for these to be done through us as he is presently fearing for his life having been receiving death threats from a lot of quarters because of this case.”
Alpha Beta first became known when it was appointed as a consultant to the Lagos State Government, arguably its first client, under the tenure of Babatunde Fowler as the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue from 2005 to 2014.
The company got the appointment when Bola Ahmed Tinubu was Governor of Lagos State. The speculation, which has yet to be dissipated since then, is that Tinubu completely owns or is a major shareholder in the company.
In the same vein, the state has also never denied claims that the company takes about 10 per cent of internally generated revenue of Lagos, estimated in 2016 to be about N40 billion every month.
