A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Bawa Usman Kaltungo, on Tuesday told a Lagos Special Offences Court that Arik Air had already repaid about 38 per cent of its foreign loan obligations before its takeover by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Kaltungo, who testified before Justice Mojisola Dada in Ikeja, gave details during the ongoing trial of former AMCON Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, and several others over an alleged N76 billion fraud linked to Arik Air’s financial restructuring.
Kuru is standing trial alongside Kamilu Alaba Omokide, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank of Nigeria, and Super Bravo Limited on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, abuse of office, and alleged theft.
One of the charges alleges that Union Bank made false representations to AMCON in 2011, leading to the transfer of about N71 billion as non-performing loans said to be linked to Arik Air. Another count accuses some of the defendants of unlawfully converting N4.9 billion belonging to Arik Air for the benefit of NG Eagle Limited in 2022.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, Kaltungo, an EFCC investigator and Acting Zonal Director of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, continued his testimony under cross-examination led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Wahab Shittu.
He told the court that investigation documents showed Arik Air was still actively servicing its foreign loans before the intervention of Union Bank and AMCON.
According to him, a key exhibit presented in court was a 2010 letter from Union Bank reminding Arik Air of its quarterly repayment obligations on a foreign aircraft loan facility.
He explained that the document indicated that the airline’s loan repayments were ongoing and up to date at the time.
Kaltungo added that payments were confirmed to have been made as late as December 2010, contrary to claims that the facility had become non-performing.
He further alleged that Union Bank later converted the loan guarantee into a different financial structure and transferred it to AMCON as a non-performing asset, a move he described as misleading based on findings of the investigation.
According to him, the bank retained about N51 billion linked to the guarantee but did not use it to settle obligations owed to foreign creditors.
“Our investigation shows that Arik Air had already paid about 38 per cent of the loan to foreign lenders,” he said.
He added that the funds held by Union Bank were expected to be used in settling the foreign obligations, but this was allegedly not done.
Kaltungo also clarified that the original loan was not issued by Union Bank but was a foreign credit facility obtained from international lenders, including HSBC, which Arik Air had been servicing before regulatory intervention.
The case was adjourned for continuation of hearing.
