Heritage Bank Engages in Legal Battle with Tunde Ayeni Over Alleged N40 Billion Debt

Tunde Ayeni, a controversial businessman previously associated with the downfall of Skye Bank, finds himself in the midst of another financial controversy. This time, Heritage Bank is taking legal action against him for an alleged unpaid N40 billion loan.

After his legal entanglement with Skye Bank, which he was accused of mismanaging, Ayeni, the former chairman of the defunct Skye Bank Plc, is now facing allegations of defaulting on a substantial loan he secured from Heritage Bank.

According to credible sources, Heritage Bank has lodged a complaint with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), claiming Ayeni’s indebtedness to the bank.

In a separate incident, Ayeni and the former managing director of Skye Bank, Timothy Oguntayo, were confronted with 10 charges related to money laundering amounting to N25.4 billion by the EFCC in 2019. Their alleged misconduct contributed to the bank’s downfall and led to the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in September 2018. Subsequently, the struggling bank was taken over by the CBN and later sold to new investors in October 2022.

In July of the preceding year, the EFCC withdrew its case against Ayeni and Oguntayo, reportedly due to a confidential settlement that might have involved the forfeiture of N15 billion in assets and cash.

Though Ayeni may have experienced a respite from the EFCC’s accusations concerning his tenure at Skye Bank, he now faces a new legal battle.

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Regarding his debt to Heritage Bank, it is understood that there were initial discussions for the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to assume the debt. However, as of now, no such transfer has occurred. Legal complications have prevented Heritage Bank from seizing the properties that Ayeni put up as collateral for the loan.

An undisclosed source from Heritage Bank confirmed that the bank has officially taken the matter to the EFCC and is committed to recovering the owed funds.

“We have brought the case to the EFCC,” stated the unnamed source. “We are following the legal process. We are determined to reclaim what is owed. These funds belong to the bank’s depositors.”

The source also voiced concerns about Ayeni’s actions potentially affecting the bank’s stability. “Individuals like Ayeni are contributing to the challenges the bank currently faces. If the bank were to collapse, the livelihoods of many employees and their families would be jeopardized. Ayeni appears indifferent to the bank’s potential collapse. If he doesn’t fulfill his obligations, we will take strong actions, similar to the protest organized against Senator Andy Uba. We will rally and demonstrate at his residences.”

The retrieval of the owed sum would significantly assist Heritage Bank, which has been facing its own difficulties lately. The bank’s financial struggles have escalated, putting customers’ deposits at risk.

In June 2021, Heritage Bank employees staged a demonstration at the residence of former Senator Andy Uba, urging him to repay an alleged debt to the bank. The employees gathered with placards outside his Abuja residence, seeking his cooperation to safeguard their jobs.

In 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria empowered banks to freeze accounts of loan defaulters in order to protect depositors. Additionally, in 2021, the Nigerian Senate passed a bill bolstering the authority of AMCON to recover bad loans, enabling the seizure and sale of assets linked to debtors, whether or not the assets were used as collateral.