ICPC Uncovers Two More Fake Government Agencies

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has concluded that the promoter of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, should face criminal prosecution after investigators found the organisation had no legal existence.

ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), announced the findings on Thursday after presenting an interim investigation report to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Aliyu said the probe, ordered by the President 30 days earlier, established that Adeyemi neither held any valid Federal Government appointment nor had authority to operate under the name of the PFIPC.

According to the commission, documents presented by the suspect, including an appointment letter and a government gazette purportedly legitimising the organisation, were forged.

Investigators also discovered that the suspect allegedly created two other fictitious agencies — the Foreign Capital and Wealth Investment Promotion Agency (FCWIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP) — using forged legal instruments to give the organisations an appearance of legitimacy and facilitate their operations through commercial bank accounts.

Aliyu said the suspect further assumed the identity of the defunct Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), allegedly taking over its office and using the premises to run the fake organisation.

He disclosed that investigators had questioned Adeyemi and other individuals connected with the matter and that the case had advanced beyond the fact-finding stage.

“We have interacted with Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi. He is among the persons we interviewed. We took his statement, noted everything he told us and drew our conclusions from the evidence before us. The investigation has now progressed to the criminal stage. We are rounding it off and preparing to file charges in court,” Aliyu said.

The ICPC chairman declined to comment on allegations involving about N400 million, saying the issue forms part of the evidence that will be presented when the case reaches court.

He also said investigators found no evidence that public funds were released to either the fake PFIPC or the defunct PEAC and cleared the Presidency of any involvement in the alleged scheme.

“Our investigation found no weakness in the systems of the State House, and the purported appointment letter did not emanate from the Presidency,” he said.

However, the investigation identified procedural weaknesses within several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including gaps in verification and administrative oversight that allegedly enabled the suspect’s activities.

The commission said it had recommended criminal prosecution of Adeyemi, disciplinary action against public officials whose negligence facilitated the fraud, and reforms aimed at strengthening institutional controls to prevent similar incidents.

Aliyu added that while the interim report had been submitted to President Tinubu, investigators would continue work on outstanding aspects of the case before filing formal charges in court.