Former AMCON MD Ahmed Kuru Indicted Again Over Sale of Delta Steel Company
A new controversy has surfaced surrounding Ahmed Kuru, the former Managing Director of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), who is already facing allegations of monumental fraud totaling N20 billion. This time, Kuru has been implicated in the corruption-ridden sale of the Delta Steel Company.
According to the Director General of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, the Delta Steel Company, once valued at over $700 million, was sold for a mere $30 million under the Nigerian government’s privatization policy. Gbeleyi revealed that 80% of the company was sold to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd (GINL) in 2005, with the government retaining a 20% stake.
The sale has been marred by controversy, with allegations that Kuru was involved in the corrupt deal. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently prosecuting Kuru alongside Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited on amended six-count charges bordering on conspiracy, stealing, dishonesty, and criminal conversion totaling N20 billion.
In a related development, Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited was recently convicted and sentenced for fraud by Justice R.A. Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos.
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has initiated an investigation into the sale of the Delta Steel Company, directing AMCON and Premium Steel and Mines to halt any further harassment of estate residents until the probe is concluded.