Central Bank of Nigeria Disputes Investment Firm’s Claim on FBN Holdings Shareholding

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released a statement disputing the claim of Barbican Capital Limited, an investment firm, regarding its ownership of shares in FBN Holdings. According to the CBN, Barbican Capital was only able to provide evidence to support its ownership of 3,110,400,619 units of shares, representing 8.67% of FBN Holdings’ shares.

In a 60-paragraph response to a suit filed by Barbican Capital, the CBN stated that the investment firm was unable to provide evidence of purchase or ownership for the remaining 2,340,599,305 shares, representing 6.52% of FBN Holdings’ shares. The CBN also revealed that it had communicated the outcome of the verification exercise to FBN Holdings, indicating that only the 3,110,400,619 shares could be verified, while the remaining shares could not be verified.

Barbican Capital had claimed to have acquired approximately 5,386,397,202 shares of FBNH, representing 15.1% of its shares listed on the Nigerian Exchange. However, the CBN has disputed this claim, citing the lack of evidence to support the ownership of the majority of the shares.

FBN Holdings has also filed a suit in the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking to dismiss the dispute, alleging that Barbican Capital was concealing the fact of an ongoing verification exercise by the CBN of its shareholding.

The dispute highlights the ongoing controversy surrounding shareholding in FBN Holdings, with both parties claiming ownership of significant shares in the financial institution. The CBN’s statement has raised questions about the transparency and accuracy of shareholding information in the country’s financial sector.