Leading Nigerian bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) rebuffed allegations of unethical business practices and financial misrepresentation, raised by certain groups earlier this month.
Global Integrity Coalition (GIC) held a presser to accuse GTCO of manipulating financial statements and exaggerating its accounts. The group alleged that GTB parroted a false claim of N1.004 trillion profit before tax for the period ending June 30, 2024.
The bank, according to GIC, was allegedly harvesting customers’ personal information without their consent to open new accounts, in an attempt to project a high customer base.
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But GTBank denied the claims, describing them as “baseless allegations against the Group’s business activities and its executive management.”
The financial institution stressed that it was not under any regulatory scrutiny and vowed to take legal action against the spread of false reports regarding its financial activities.
“GTCO Plc has taken swift and decisive legal actions against the various sources of these false reports,” the statement read. “We will continue to use the full extent of the rule of law available to safeguard our reputation.”
In the first half of 2024, GTCO posted a remarkable N1.39 trillion revenue, up from N672.6 billion in the same period in 2023, and declared N1 trillion profit before tax, and a profit after tax of N905.5 billion.
Allegations against GTCO
At the GIC conference, the President of the Arewa Consultative Movement, Alhaji Yusuf Kabir, called for a forensic audit and the suspension of GTCO’s CEO, Segun Agbaje, citing alleged discrepancies over the reported profits.
The Ethnic Youth Leaders’ Council of Nigeria (EYLCN) also backed the move, accusing the bank of money laundering, round-tripping, and other questionable financial practices. The group claimed the reported profits were doctored, raising doubts about the genuineness of GTCO’s financial statements.
GIC recommended dissolving GTCO’s board and management and urged regulatory bodies to take action.
GTCO, however, denied the claims, reiterating its adherence to international standards.
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GTCO’s Response
GTCO refuted these claims, labelling them as baseless allegations that are part of a coordinated effort to damage the bank’s reputation. The bank reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, stating that it is not under any financial or regulatory investigation.
“We urge all our customers, shareholders and stakeholders to kindly disregard all the allegations being peddled through various media platforms and handles.
All of our executive management team continue to operate in their full capacities as appointed and are not under any financial or regulatory scrutiny as alleged. Thank you for your continued support,” the bank said in a statement on Friday.