The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a yet-to-be-identified operations manager of a commercial bank for hoarding new naira notes in Abuja.

The bank manager was apprehended after he was found withholding N29 million in new naira notes on Monday.

“An operations manager of a leading commercial bank in Abuja Central Area was today, February 6, 2023, arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Commission for refusing to load the Automated Teller Machines of the bank despite having N29 million of the redesigned naira notes in the branch’s vaults,” an EFCC statement read in part.

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“Before he was whisked away for further questioning, the operatives ordered the loading of all the ATMs and the payment of the stipulated amount across the counter to the delight of the distraught customers who had spent hours on queues without getting the new notes.

“This discovery, which indicates a sabotage of the government’s monetary policy by some banks, was made by the EFCC in continuation of the ongoing surveillance and visit to banks across the country to access their vaults and verify whether they were deliberately refusing to dispense the redesigned naira notes.”

READ MORE: REVEALED: How Banks Tie Cash Bundles Down to Stop ATMs From Dispensing New Notes

Many Nigerians continue to struggle to access their funds at deposit banks and ATMs.

FIJ recently reported how some banks deliberately prevented the public from receiving new naira notes at their ATMs. 

While some bank workers simply refused to load available cash in the ATMs, others loaded them but kept the notes wrapped up.