Agent dupes NSE of N190 million

The Special Fraud Unit, Lagos, has commenced investigations into the alleged defrauding of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) of N190m, by one of its property managers, Uche Phillips Ehiemere. Ehiemere, it was alleged, siphoned the said amount, which was revenue accruable to the NSE from its tenants at the Lagos headquarters of the Exchange.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Ngozi Isintume-Agu, spokesperson for the SFU, said that Ehiemere, the Managing Director of DE-ANCHOR Limited, was arrested following a petition filed against him by the NSE. In a statement by Isintume- Agu, Ehiemere, 60, was in 1999, appointed NSE’s Property Manager and tasked to collect revenue from NSE’s tenants with the mandate to retain five per cent of such rents as service/maintenance charge and remit the balance to NSE’s account.

According to Isintume-Agu, “upon the reconciliation of the accounts in August, 2012, it was discovered that the said Ehiemere has fraudulently converted N190,000,000, being the total sum collected, to his use without remitting same to NSE’s account.” Ehiemere was also alleged to have stolen diesel and generator batteries between September, 2012 and January from the NSE.
The suspect was also alleged to have specifically collected N10,606,100.40 and N5,234,048.40 respectively from two tenants of the NSE, namely, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) and First Bank of Nigeria Plc respectively, without remittance. SFU spokesperson, however, claimed that the suspect would be charged to court upon completion of investigation of the allegations against him