The Emefiele management team is said to have made a strange payment of $6.23milion from the vault of the apex bank in one day last February.

The beneficiaries are yet to be identified.

Earlier snippets from the probe about 593 foreign bank accounts allegedly operated illegally by Emefiele and others have already left many Nigerians in shock.

It was gathered yesterday the embattled former CBN governor,a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and 12 top officials of the bank may face trial in connection with the payment of the $6.23milion.

Those recommended for trial include directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Director and Branch Controllers.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with what was described by the Special Investigator as “forgery, concealment, conspiracy and fraud”.

The alleged withdrawal of the cash was committed at the Abuja branch of the CBN.

The cash withdrawal was captured on CCTV,according to a document sighted by our correspondent.

The document details how the cash was withdrawn.

It reads: “Around the date, 7th February and 8th February, 2023, the sum of US$6.23 million was unlawfully removed from the vault cash from the Foreign Payments Office, Abuja Branch, of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The physical acts of the unlawful removal of this amount were captured on the CCTV footage which was viewed and preserved.

“Findings show that: A letter dated 23rd January, 2023, with a signature mark, ‘Muhammadu Buhari’, was sent to a government official with caption, ‘ Presidential Directive on Foreign Election Observer Missions’

“The letter referred to in (i), above, trail another letter dated 26th January, 2023, with signature mark, directed to’ Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria’, for payment of the sum of $6.23million as ‘ a contingent logistics advance… in line with Presidential directive.

“A follow-up letter dated 31st January, 2023, was sent to the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, requesting for approval to effect payment of the sum of $6.23m.

“The letter referred to in {iii), above, contained a signature mark and approval notation of the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and conveying consent to pay the sum of US$6.23m.

“The letter referred to in (iv) above trailed a letter dated 7th February, 2023 sent to Abuja Branch, furthering process for the payment in cash of the sum of $6.23m to persons yet to be identified.”

The document said an official took steps, procured the dollar cash, and released same to persons yet to be fully identified.

It said another official of the CBN has admitted in a written statement that he “acted in collaboration with, an Assistant Director in the Banking supervision Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria and some persons he is yet to identify, to conceive and carry out the act of stealing the sum of $6.23million out of the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“A fraudulent cash withdrawal of $6.23million perpetrated since February 8 2023, was not discovered nor taken seriously till the 4th of December, when a Request for Information was issued by the Office of the Special Investigator.

“There is therefore an appearance of concealment by officers who occupied some positions up to, and around the period 7 and 8th February, 2023.”

The Special Investigator said he suspected that the CBN under Emefiele was printing money and converting it for its own use.

He said huge liquidity intervention in the banking sector by the CBN from 2014 to date was not derived from the operational income stream.

He said he also suspected that the CBN was operating secret reserves which location was known only to itself and not disclosed in the Financial Statements of the years under review.

Another document reads: “There is no provision in any law in Nigeria where the CBN is authorized to print the national currency and convert same to its own use.

“The financial statements of the CBN over the years do not tally with its numerous financial interventions, save as it suggests that the CBN operates secret reserves which location is only known to itself and not disclosed in the Financial Statements of the years under review.

“For instance, the huge liquidity intervention in the banking sector by the CBN from 2014 to date was not derived from the operational income stream of the CBN.

“On request, the CBN officials could not show the source of this fund. It is observed that the CBN determines its financial reporting standards; it ended up mixing-up cash basis with accrual basis in its accounting system.”

“The Bank’s Statement of Cash Flows in the audited financial statements, fail to show the source and application of the huge banking sector intervention and other 43 intervention programmes in several trillions of Naira from 2014.

“The overflow of this in subsequent years is indicative since the opening balance of one year is logically the ending balance of the preceding year. In situations like this, the only explanation is that money was printed by the CBN, and same was converted to its own use.”