Former Managing Director of the Pipeline Product Marketing Company, PPMC, Prince Haruna Momoh is currently under the radar of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC over the sum of $700 Million he allegedly salted away from the Petroleum agency and laundered in foreign banks, reports Pointblanknews.com
As part of the investigation, travel documents of Prince Momoh have also been confiscated by Federal Authorities to prevent him from fleeing the country while investigation is on-going.
Pointblanknews.com gathered from very credible sources that officials of the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom had placed Prince Momoh under investigation when huge sums running into several Millions of Dollars were deposited in London branches of Access Bank and First Bank.
According to a source familiar with the investigation who pleaded anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the matter, Aig Imoukhuede, the former Managing Director of Access Bank was notified of the Millions of Dollars deposited in Access Bank, London branch. Not wanting to get into trouble, he immediately asked that the account be closed.
Soon after the account linked to the former PPMC boss was closed by Access Bank, Mr. Imoukhuede was said to have immediately alerted the Metropolitan Police who swiftly began investigations. Sources told Pointblanknews.com that preliminary investigations indicated that the sum of $700 million belonging to Prince Haruna has been traced through a lady acquaintance whom he uses as a front at a Bank in the Isle of Man.
Officials of the ICPC are said to have been intimated of the development and are currently collaborating with officials of the Metropolitan Police to repatriate the funds to Nigeria.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the ICPC were not successful but an official of the anti-graft agency who spoke to Pointblanknews.com said he is not aware of the $700 million looted funds.
He said although Prince Haruna is under investigation on other matters relating to money laundering and fraud while he served as the PPMC boss.
“I can confirm he is under investigation for money laundering but I am not aware of the $700million fraud. That seem to be another new area I would have to cross-check with my superiors,” the source said.
Part of the atrocities linked to the former PPMC boss include the use of Kerosene as Aviation fuel for which he allegedly rakes in for himself the sum of $1million for every five thousand tons of Kerosene sold as Aviation fuel.
Only recently, Chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, the umbrella body of the domestic airlines in the country, Captain Nogie Meggison accused Aviation fuel marketers of selling kerosene as aviation fuel to airlines in the country.
He said the practice was already affecting the performance of the local carriers’ aircraft engines.
Meggison spoke at a one-day breakfast meeting organized by Aviation Round Table, an industry advocacy body, in Lagos recently.
“Oil marketers are now selling kerosene to us as aviation fuel. The NCAA is aware of this because we have sent a document to the NCAA on the issue,” the AON chairman said.
He said that the International Air Transport Association had sent a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to all airline operators coming into the country to beware of aviation fuel being sold to them in Nigeria, stressing that the NCAA had been notified of the development.
