The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has arrested a woman with the Twitter handle @Simisola of Lala, allegedly offering the redesigned naira notes for sale on social media.
In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the commission, Azuka Ogugua, said that she was arrested due to intelligence received by ICPC’s operatives.
She said the suspect allegedly seized the opportunity of the scarcity of the new naira notes to market the new notes openly.
“It is believed she is in collusion with key elements in the financial services sector, diverting the newly released notes away from banking halls and payment channels into a black market,” she said.
According to ICPC, the suspect, a social media “serial entrepreneur,” deals in skincare, sales of fuel, facilitation of foreign travels through visa acquisitions, and other businesses.
According to her, the suspect is currently in ICPC detention and is helping the anti-graft agency with its findings on the criminal trading of the naira and the attendant scarcity and negative economic outcomes caused by the action.
She further explained that the arrest was due to the collaboration between CBN, ICPC and EFCC in implementing the new cashless policy and Naira redesign.
(NAN)
