Heineken suddenly transferred the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Nico Vervelde, to Singapore shortly after Nigerian police interrogated him for alleged corruption.
, Nico Vervelde, to Singapore shortly after Nigerian police interrogated him for alleged corruption.
What the Elsevier story doesn’t say is that one month before the interview, Mr Vervelde was interrogated at the headquarters of the federal police in Abuja. The questions he had to answer there were considerably more challenging. The police wanted to know everything about a notorious corruption case in which his wife was the prime suspect and he a key witness. The case made headlines in Nigeria and internationally, but was never followed up.
But what about the public tender? As a listed company and part of a multinational with operations around the world, Nigerian Breweries has strict procedures for these kinds of contracts. Nothing to worry about, assures Clémentine. In exchange for a fee, she will arrange everything, starting with meeting the MD, Mr Vervelde. Mr Sule is impressed by her straightforwardness and has a good feeling.
Mr Sule is fed up. His people, the Fulani, are known to be proud and headstrong, and he comes from an influential family: they are messing with the wrong guy. When the controller and a colleague demand another $20,000, he pays. But this time he does it through the bank, with proof of payment. He then confronts the top management of Nigerian Breweries and the auditing department.
Mr Vervelde has a hard time. “After twelve hours of questioning he looked terrible, he had suddenly aged ten years,” one of those present remembers. With Clémentine, it’s not as clearly visible, but she suffers too. From the same source: “The commissioner played a very smart game. He sat at his desk, behind a huge pile of papers. She could not handle the situation and just kept on talking.
Moreover, and in relation to the case, the police also discover that Nigerian Breweries has been evading taxes. The former colleague finds it strange that Mr Vervelde still works for Heineken. “This is not the first time his wife has been linked to controversial practices, and he has always maintained that he knew nothing of her activities. We found that questionable. I assume that in a marriage there is no Chinese wall.”
“You would go to such an event we were sponsoring to the tune of N40 million without any idea where the money had gone. The figures were often highly dubious.”
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