Court hears Stanbic IBTC’s suit against FRC, others tomorrow

THE suit instituted by Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos against the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) and National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) will come up for mention on Wednesday November 4, 2015.

The matter, which was scheduled for hearing on Monday, November 2, did not hold, as the presiding judge was unavailable.

Stanbic IBTC is contesting the powers of FRC to impose a fine of N1 billion on it, among other sanctions announced by the body over alleged misrepresentation of Stanbic IBTC’s audited accounts for 2013 and 2014.

The bank said that Mahtani Brothers, owners of the Churchgate conglomerate, who are minority shareholders in Stanbic IBTC, had through surrogates, reportedly petitioned the regulatory agencies in the financial services industry alleging misdeeds on the franchise fees to be paid to Standard Bank.

Standard Bank Group, the parent company of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, has said FRC exceeded its powers when it ruled that Stanbic IBTC had made material misstatements in its financial accounts.