Bank says 'court order' to pay Innoson N12bn is false

Guaranty Trust Bank has dismissed the media reports that the Supreme Court ordered the bank to pay the sum of N12 billion to the Chairman of Innoson Motors, Innocent Chukwuma, within 14 days.

The bank described the statement credited to the Innoson Group Head of Corporate Communications, Cornel Osigwe , as "false, mischievous and malicious" .
In a statement which was issued on Thursday, June 7, and obtained, the bank said the development would not deter it from its "recovery drive against recalcitrant debtors."

"The Bank's Customers and the General Public are hereby kindly urged to disregard these false statements as nothing could be further from the truth.There was no directive or Order issued by the Supreme Court of Nigeria to the Bank to make any payment to any of its debtor Customers",
the statement signed by the bank's Secretary, Erhi Obebeduo , said.

"The Bank as a highly responsible corporate citizen will in accordance with its culture and tradition refrain from making comments about on-going litigation matters and will continue to focus on using legal means to recover its bad debts.

"We again reiterate that there is no iota of truth in the falsehood being peddled by desperate and mischievous elements and the General Public should disregard same in its entirety," it added.
Innoson, as Chukwuma is fondly called, and GTBank have been in a prolonged legal battle over claims by the industrialist that the bank made arbitrary deductions in his bank accounts.

The bank countered the allegations, saying it was Chukwuma who allegedly falsified bank and shipping documents to obtain tax waivers from the Nigerian government.
In December 2017, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed fraud charges against Innoson and subsequently arrested him after he was said to have failed to honour the agency's invitation.

The EFCC had alleged that the defendants with intent to defraud; conspired to obtain by false pretences containers of motorcycle, spare parts and raw materials, property of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) from Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, Apapa, Lagos.
They are alleged to have fraudulently induced staff of Mitsui OSK and Maersk Line to deliver to them via their clearing agents the goods which were imported from China in the name of GTB by falsely pretending that they were authorised by the bank to clear the goods.

The agency claimed that in order to facilitate the fraud, Chukwuma forged a bill of lading numbered 598286020 of Maersk Line Limited and 11007950841 of Mutsui O.S.K Lines by knowingly putting a false GTB stamp and signature of the bank staff.

The alleged forgery was in order that the forged documents be used or acted upon as genuine to the prejudice of any person within Lagos or elsewhere.