FG Orders EFCC To Probe Kashamu’s Firm Over Stamp Duty Collection

By Kunle Olasanmi

— Mar 24, 2016 7:00 am | Leave a comment

The attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to launch an investigation on the involvement of Kasmal International Services Limited with stamp duty collection.

Kasmal is said to be owned by Senator Buruji Kashamu, from Ogun state.

The EFCC has three weeks to submit it’s report on the investigation.

Special adviser to the AGF on media and publicity, comrade Salihu Othman Isah, said in a press statement that the purported consultancy agreement entered into with Kasmal International Services Limited for the collection of stamp duty from banking and other financial institutions in the country between the Nigeria Postal Service and the company needed to be investigated by the anti-graft commission.

It affirmed that the agreement in question led the Kasmal Group to purport to waive all arrears of remittances owned the Federal Government of Nigeria by commercial banks and other financial institutions in the country.

But the senator in a statement last night described the directive of the AGF as a mischievous attempt to criminalize a purely civil contract in order to instigate public opinion against a lawful business enterprise that has invested effort, time and resources to open up a stream of revenue that was not in existence before.

“Although we have no doubt that right minded observers will see the injustice in the move by the AGF’s office to deprive Kasmal Ltd of the fruits of its efforts, we believe that AGF’s directive is mischievous and calculated to bring the judicial process into disrepute. We will bring this unlawful abuse of office to the attention of the court at its next sitting on this matter on the 17th of April 2016”, the senator said.

2004 till the commencement of CBN Circular No CBN/GEN/DMB/02/006 of 15th January, 2015.