Tony Elumelu
UBA
Tony Elumelu
Tony Elumelu is also a figure of some controversy, both with regard to his 2005 takeover of the bank and for his bank’s relations with several former government officials and state governors now linked to corruption.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says UBA helped launder $8m for Orji Kalu, former Abia state governor, and tidied up $10m for James Ibori, former Delta state governor. Both former governors face multiple counts of money laundering.
Tony Elumelu has not been identified directly in connection with any impropriety. UBA’s reputation however took another recent blow when US authorities dished out an unprecedented $15m fine on the bank, describing it as suffering “pervasive and systemic … internal control and audit deficiencies” and as a bank that “continues to operate without an effective anti-money laundering program, despite repeated warnings.”
Tony Elumelu has worked hard to limit the damage created by the fine. Many industry players believe he may have rolled the dice once too often but few would rush to bet against one of the finance sector’s great survivors.
Tony Elumelu holds honours degrees at both graduate and post-graduate levels in Economics. Tony obtained additional academic exposure at the following prestigious business schools: Harvard (Boston, USA) and IMD (Lausanne, Switzerland). His banking and financial career spans over two decades. Tony Elumelu was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of then Standard Trust Bank (STB) Plc in 1997, a position he held until the successful completion of STB’s merger with United Bank for Africa Plc.
Tony has served in various capacities in the Public Sector at the instance of the Federal Government and her agencies. These include Member, Presidential Committee for the Heart of Africa Project; Member of the Presidential Committee on NEPAD; Member of the Advisory Board of the Federal Capital Territory; and various other national committees. In the private sector, Tony Elumelu was a founding Director of Transnational Corporation Plc, is a member of the governing council of the Financial Institutions Training Center of Nigeria, is a Director of the Central Securities Clearing System Ltd., and is President of the West African Bankers’ Association. Tony Elumelu was accorded the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2003.
In 2006, he was elected as President of the West African Bankers’ Association (WABA), a position he held for 2 years. He won the 2006 African Business Leader of The Year award conferred by the acclaimed UK-based magazine, Africa Investor. In March 2007, he was voted The Banker of The Year by the Nigerian Magazine, Global Excellence, and CEO of the Year in 2008 by the same magazine.
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