SAN FRANCISCO, May 08, (THEWILL) – The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has preferred three charges against the suspended Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo.
The ICPC, in the charge marked CR/185/18 which was filed before a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, accused Gwarzo of committing fraud in June 2015.
It said Gwarzo received over N104m as severance benefit less than a month after his appointment also accusing him of receiving over N10m as a ‘car grant’ contrary to Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
The commission also preferred two charges against the SEC Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services, Zakwanu Garuba, for allegedly conniving with Gwarzo to commit the fraud.
The charges read, “That you, Mounir Gwarzo, on or about June 2015, while being the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, received the sum of N104, 851, 154.94 as severance benefits when you had yet to retire, resign or disengage from the service of SEC. You conferred a corrupt advantage upon yourself and committed an offence under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
“That you committed a criminal breach of trust to wit: dishonestly misappropriated the sum of N104, 851, 154.94 as your severance benefit contrary to Section 311 and punishable under Section 312 of the Penal Code Cap 532 Vol 4 of FCT Abuja 2007.
“That you conferred a corrupt advantage upon yourself when you received the sum of N10, 983, 488.88 in excess of car grant payable to you and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act.”
THEWILL recalls that Gwarzo was suspended by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, in November 2017 for alleged financial impropriety.
The suspended SEC boss had, however, denied all the allegations levelled against him, insisting that he was being persecuted by the minister for refusing to drop the probe of Oando Plc, an allegation which the minister denied.
