Abuja — Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begun investigations into allegations of looting and diversion of $360m (N42.3b) levelled against the Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, and three other officials of the Service.

Also being investigated are M.A Dike, E.A Sulu and some unnamed officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who were listed as accomplices in a petition filed at the EFCC by Francis Mgboh, counsel to ABZ Integrated Limited.

ABZ is a firm that served as consultant to EFCC to investigate alleged tax evasion by Chevron Group of Companies.

The firm stated that from its findings, which it carried out during the tenure of Nuhu Ribadu as EFCC Chairman, the said N42.3 billion was part of the recovery made from Chevron, but unaccounted for by FIRS.

EFCC's spokesman, Femi Babafemi, confirmed at the weekend that the commission was investigating the FIRS on account of the petition.

He said the EFCC had received the petition and has already swung into action, promising to give more details later.

The money alleged to have been diverted, was part of the $491.5m said to have been re covered from Chevron after the company was indicted for tax evasion between 2001 and 2003.

The petition said the money was eventually remitted to the Federal Government through the FIRS by Chevron in several installments but claimed that "the actual amount remitted by Omoigui-Okauru was $131m to secret accounts".

The petition further alleged that the proceeds of the diversion were expended in the purchase of choice houses and exotic cars.

The petitioners told the EFCC that the diversion was in collaboration with some officials of the CBN, and that FIRS officials suppressed all CBN advices on payment from December 29, 2005 to January 16, 2007, in order to conceal the diversion of monies recovered from Chevron.

ABZ Limited also alleged in the petition that the FIRS forged CBN Advice 013675 of September 15, 2004 with a view to diverting the first installment of the recovered tax evaded by Chevron.

Head of Corporate Affairs of FIRS, Afam Okiyi, dismissed the allegations, saying that they were figments of the imagination of the petitioners.