Shocking: Dangote Accounts Frozen By Court!!

Twenty commercial banks in Nigeria have been restrained from honoring any withdrawal cheque from Dangote by the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday.

Sani Dangote, younger brother of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote and his brand, The Dansa Foods Limited and Bulk Pack Services Limited are undergoing a law suit from Union Bank.

Trial judge, Justice Okon Abang said that the restraining order will be in force from now till September 2014, the next hearing.

The Judge requested all banks involved to file affidavits declaring the defendants statement of accounts he has with them.

Alhaji Sani Dangote

Union bank had given Sani Dangote a loan of N5.2bn since September, 2008 but Dangote and his companies has allegedly refused to pay back.

The banks lawyer, Mr. Chukwudi Enebelihad seeked the mareva injunction to stop Dangote from making use of any of his accounts pending the determination of the suits.

(Mareva Injuction is a temporary injunction that freezes the assets of a party pending further order or final resolution by the Court.)

The banks named include Access, CITI, Diamond, Ecobank, Enterprise, Fidelity, Keystone, Mainstreet, Skye, Wema, Heritage, Sterling, Unity and Zenith Banks.

The rest  are  First Bank, First City Monument Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank and United Bank for Africa.

Union banks Plc told the court to give the order because Dangote has been transfering funds under the company’s name and into foreign accounts in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Canada and Switzerland, trying to deplete the funds in the accounts of his companies.

One bank official, Olufunmilola Ayoola told the court that the failure of the defendants to liquidate the monumental debt had negatively affected the Nigerian economy.

Senior brother, Aliko Dangote is the Richest Black man in the world, having assessed a fortune of about 24 Billion dollars according to Forbes.

Aliko owns the Dangote group , the most largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest in Africa. It generated revenue in excess of US$2 billion in 2011.