The Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Federal Mortgage Bank, FMBN, Mr. Richard Esin, is in the news again. This time, he is accused of taking bribes and kickbacks for giving lucrative contracts to vendors.
Esin, is also under probe for receiving millions of Naira in bogus deals, bribes and kickbacks as graft busters begin investigations into multi-million Naira financial impropriety and abuse of office.
Investigations by Per Second News reveal that an ex-auditor with the bank, Mr. Teslim Anibaba, also accused the acting CEO of the FMBN of monumental fraudulent transactions and acts of corruption.
Anibaba in a damning petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and Department of State Security, DSS, as well as the ICPC, listed several acts of corruption against the acting MD of the FMBN.
In the petition exclusively obtained by Per Second News, the ex-auditor, alleged to how Mr. Esin put him under pressure to process dubious payments to his cronies on projects that were not executed as well as other dubious transactions that are against the anti corruption efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
According to sources, middlemen were used to allegedly take kickbacks for approval of contracts and loans that ran into millions of Naira.
Investigations shows that the FMBN under Esin is ‘a vast, criminal conspiracy’ organization used to steal monies.
Driven by insatiable greed while the government is crying about recession, Esin and his group schemed using his position as acting CEO to leverage lucrative deals for personal gains.
Part of the petition alleged that most of the dubious payments were listed as consultancies of ill-defined nature.
According to a credible source in the know, the ex-auditor had petitioned the former MD of the bank and now President Buhari’s in-law, Mr. Gimba Kumo, to various anti-graft agencies over alleged acts of corruption.
Following his “embarrassment” to the bank, Anibaba was initially suspended and later sacked from the bank.
However, on his appointment as the acting MD, Esin recalled Anibaba and made him the head of audit department, all in an effort for witch-hunt and commencement of the building of a platform for fresh war and intrigues.
Esin’s grouse, Per Second News learnt was informed by his determination to “deal with Kumo” who preferred another executive director on his leaving to be the acting managing director, according to a staff.
But things did not go according to plan for Esin as Anibaba would not play ball and refused to do the bidding of his boss who brought him back.
It was learnt that Anibaba feared that the acting MD would throw him out once he had achieved his aim of getting back at Kumo who bypassed him to be acting MD.
A staff member who spoke under the condition of anonymity also accused Esin of nepotism and selective payments to contractors willing to part with certain percentage of amounts owed.
He has also been accused of spending huge resources in lobbying for his appointment as the substantive managing director of the bank.
The source revealed that even though he is in on acting capacity at the moment, he has spent more time lobbying to get confirmed as the substantive CEO than have devoted to the running of the bank.
When contacted, Mr Esin did not reply to our text messages.
The FMBN’s vision is to operate as a viable, robust and dynamic mortgage institution able to meet the challenges of developing the nation’s mortgage industry.
