The management of NASCO group has rubbished reports that the firm and its late founder, Late Ahmed Nasreddin, financed terrorism in Nigeria and across the world.
Recall that an investigative report carried out by Nigerian journalist, David Hundeyin, for West Africa Weekly, had accused Nasreddin of sponsoring terrorism.
“Even more interestingly, when I do some digging into Mr. Haruna, I discover something potentially even more alarming. It will be recalled that in September 2021, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele claimed that a significant portion of dollars bought by Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in Nigeria goes into illegal importation of arms. We now rejoin our Eritrean friend in the year 2006. The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has recently been gazetted, and one of the first things its counter-terrorism unit does is to freeze all assets linked to NASCO Group Nigeria Limited. Apparently, Mr. Nasreddin has been doing some creative accounting to hide the fact that he is moving money around the world to fund Islamist terror organisations. Or at least, that was what the Nigerian government itself wrote to the UN in the same letter.
“A Wikileaks cable from 2002 hints at American hesitancy on the subject of freezing NASCO’s Nigerian assets due to the economic implications for Plateau State and political implications in Nigeria. The real proof of Nasreddin’s double life however, comes from the US Treasury Department which publishes a comprehensive account of how he launders and moves money around the world for terrorist entities. Want to hear the real kicker? Nasreddin has been funding and laundering money for none other than GSPC – the Algerian terrorist group which Yakubu Katsina and Shahru Haruna are also involved with at the exact same time,” part of the report had read.
But in a swift reaction, NASCO in a statement on Tuesday described the report as irresponsible and fake journalism.
While describing the allegation as defamatory and slanderous, the firm stated that it’s founder was exonerated by the United Nations Security Council and US government after the unfortunate incidence of 2001 where thousand of people and entities were subjected to investigation.
“A detailed examination by the United Nations Security Council and the US Government totally exonerated NASCO’s late founder. Dr. Ahmed Nasreddin, and his business interests of all allegations,” the company said.
“It was clearly established that NASCO was never at any time associated with the sponsorship of terrorism — directly or indirectly — anywhere in the world.”
NASCO said a similar investigation was done by the National Intelligence Agency of Nigeria, where it also came to the same conclusion, exonerating its late founder of any act or complicity in the sponsorship of terrorism in Nigeria or any other country.
The firm also dismissed reports that its asset or associate business interest was seized or account frozen after the investigation, noting that it has never had any dealing with other alleged terrorist it was roped with.
“NASCO can also categorically affirm that it has never been associated with nor had business dealings with any of the persons mentioned in the false report,” it said.
The group described the allegation as false, stating that it was done clearly in an orchestrated manner with malicious intent aimed at causing commercial damage to the brand.
This article was originally published on Naija News