A $165 million fraud, phantom rice shipments that never existed, a web of shady businessmen, and a decade of courtroom drama — that’s the explosive mix unveiled by The Daily Maverick in its shocking exposé titled “A $165 Million Fraud and a Long Legal Battle Haunting Ecobank.”
The South African newspaper dives deep into the murky depths of the pan-African banking giant Ecobank, uncovering a blend of financial scandal and institutional chaos.
“What began as falsified shipping receipts has morphed into a test case for African banking institutions,” the paper writes, in a chilling yet revealing passage.
Ecobank finances shipments of rice that never existed
According to The Daily Maverick, the saga began in 2014. Ecobank Nigeria financed rice imports for Indian businessman Prem Garg through letters of credit that were supposed to guarantee delivery. The problem? The ships never arrived.
“The cargoes never left their ports of origin, and the documents provided were crude forgeries,” the paper reports.
At the center of the scheme was a network of companies controlled by Garg and his associates. Ecobank enlisted Wilben Trade, based in the United Arab Emirates, to settle the payments through letters of credit. Later, the bank accused Wilben of “embezzling funds and facilitating fraudulent transactions under the guise of international trade.”
Wilben, however, denied the allegations. Its CEO Marcus Wade told The Daily Maverick:
“Ecobank misunderstood our role. We were neither accomplices nor beneficiaries. We simply acted as a facilitating intermediary.”
A decade of court battles and vanished millions
For nearly ten years, the dispute has raged across courts in Lagos, Dubai, and Mumbai. Judgments were issued, overturned, and appealed. Ecobank sued Garg, then Wilben Trade, before finding itself sued in return for defamation and abuse of process.
“This case has become a sprawling judicial soap opera where every victory spawns a new appeal,” The Daily Maverick writes.
In 2024, Wilben struck back in Dubai, filing a $68 million damages claim against Ecobank for what it called “judicial harassment.” The company alleged that a senior Ecobank executive had even offered to drop the case in exchange for $42 million.
Ecobank flatly denied the accusation
“All claims of professional misconduct or malicious litigation against Ecobank are false, misleading, and entirely without basis,” a spokesperson told the newspaper.
A Scandal with Continental Reverberations
Journalist Kara Le Roux, the author of the investigation, also highlights deep systemic flaws within Ecobank’s structure. Auditors, including Deloitte, declined to comment “for reasons of confidentiality,” despite reportedly uncovering massive undisclosed debt during audits meant to assess the bank’s financial resilience.
The Daily Maverick notes that the losses were never fully reflected in Ecobank’s annual reports, raising serious concerns about transparency and governance.
“This scandal exposes the dark underbelly of Africa’s banking globalization — between continental ambition and structural fragility,” the paper concludes.
Shortly after, South African partner Nedbank sold its 21.2% stake in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated for $100 million, described by the Daily Maverick as “a timely exit amid a storm of financial and legal turbulence.”
A giant under pressure
Today, Ecobank faces mounting regulatory pressure, solvency concerns, and credit downgrades from Fitch Ratings, which stated that “a significant capital injection is urgently needed to restore confidence.”
More than a decade after the so-called “ghost shipments,” the case continues to weigh heavily on Ecobank. Courts in both Dubai and Lagos have yet to issue final rulings. Meanwhile, the main suspect, Prem Garg, remains at large — despite an Interpol Red Notice and multiple international warrants.
As the Daily Maverick sums it up
“More than a fraud, the Ecobank affair is a shattered mirror reflecting the vulnerabilities of Africa’s banking system, its internal dysfunctions, and the continent’s elusive quest for financial transparency in a world where money moves faster than the truth.”
Postscript-Hara Kiri
In echoing The Daily Maverick’s monumental investigation, AfreePress and Hara Kiri raise a haunting question:
How many other “Garg affairs” lie buried in the vaults of African banks?
How many millions vanish into invisible shipments?
And how long will major institutions keep concealing their losses behind the polished surface of consolidated accounts?
This scandal — intertwining fraud, impunity, and institutional fragility — is not merely a story about money.
It is a wake-up call for an entire continent: a call for vigilance, accountability, and integrity in managing its economic giants.
By Olivier A.
