How the Central Bank Was Involved in ECOTRA’s Scandal

by Ndey Jobarteh

Approving Illegal Loans

Mega Bank’s D230 million loan to Win Win/Ecotra was above the 25% lending limit set by banking law.

The Central Bank Governor, Buah Saidy, approved a “single obligor waiver” to bypass this limit.

This was done despite warnings from senior CBG officials (like Dr. Seeku Jabbi) that the borrower had unpaid debts and should not get more credit.

Selling Dollars From Reserves

From Feb 2022 – Sept 2024, CBG sold at least $13.3 million (≈ D900 million) directly to JV/Ecotra.

Normally, CBG must sell foreign exchange through public auctions so all businesses have equal chance.

Instead, CBG gave Ecotra preferential access,secretly, through the Ministry of Trade.

Parliament asked for the list of companies that benefited, but the Ministry and CBG hid the names.

Corporate Guarantees

CBG itself issued a corporate guarantee for Ecotra’s facilities (and NFSPMC’s).

At one point, the combined guarantee was over 200% of Mega Bank’s capital, an extraordinary breach of prudential limits.

Why This Matters

The Central Bank is supposed to protect our money and reserves, not hand them to politically connected companies.

By approving illegal waivers, secretly selling dollars, and giving guarantees, CBG acted as a partner in state capture.

Instead of keeping the financial system safe, the Central Bank helped turn it into a family business.

So in simple terms: The Finance Ministry opened the door, and the Central Bank carried the bags of money through it, straight to Ecotra.

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Source: The Republic