By Mohamed Kelfala Fofanah
More problems seem to be erupting at Standard Chartered Bank Sierra Leone (SL) LTD, as a case of theft has been uncovered and is currently being investigated by both the police and the Bank’s SIS Team. The extent of the fraud is understood to be very significant, not only in terms of the quantity and value involved but also because of senior-level approvals of such procurements. Questions are now being asked concerning how could such fraud have been perpetrated at a Bank that has always prided itself as a Bank that operates in a well-controlled and compliant environment, and its management has strong oversight, not only on financial performance but also on risk.
It could be recalled that the Bank was instructed by the High Court of Sierra Leone to put aside collateral of more than $ 5 million to meet end-of-service and redundancy benefit claims by 51 employees, who have served the bank for most of their career life. With this recent development of fraud under the watch of Yetunde Oni, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Sierra Leone (SL) Ltd, these employees and state regulators should be more worried about the bank’s ability to meet the rightful claims of employees, who have been made redundant.
This media is following this case closely and will update the public as the matter unfolds.
