Aug 19, 2009

* List of debtors includes powerful tycoons

* Defaulters could face arrest, asset seizures

* Bank execs sought for questioning

(Adds comment from Oando, paragraph 5)

By Nick Tattersall

LAGOS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Nigeria's anti-graft police have given defaulting debtors of five banks rescued in a $2.6 billion bailout, including some of the nation's most powerful tycoons, a week to organise repayment or face arrest and asset seizures.

Farida Waziri, chairwoman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), set the deadline hours after the central bank published a list of the banks' debtors and warned they would face legal action if they did not pay up.

"She has given them one week to bring in their money to the commission or risk arrest, prosecution and losing their assets all over the country," EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi said.

The central bank's list of more than 200 firms, individuals and state bodies contains stockbrokers and local oil and gas firms as well as larger companies, including conglomerates Transcorp (TCNP.LG) and Dangote Industries and fuel distributors African Petroleum (APET.LG) and Oando Plc (UNIP.LG).

Oando denied holding a non-performing loan. [ID:nLJ23114]

The names listed as directors and shareholders in some of the defaulting companies reads like a roll-call of the great and the good of Nigeria's corporate aristocracy.

It includes two of the country's best known tycoons, Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola -- the only Nigerians on the latest Forbes billionaires list, worth $2.5 billion and $1.2 billion respectively -- as well as Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, director-general of the stock exchange and chairman of Transcorp.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the group managing director of Access Bank (ACCE.LG), is also listed as the director of a firm owing more than 16 billion naira ($107 million).

"It has become necessary to use this medium to request the following defaulting customers of the affected banks to pay without further delay their indebtedness, failing which the banks will take all appropriate legal actions to ensure repayment," the central bank said in a statement.

"These are the largest debtors and the CBN will continue to publish the list of defaulters on an on-going basis."

The central bank last Friday injected 400 billion naira ($2.6 billion) into Afribank (AFRB.LG), Finbank (FIBP.LG), Intercontinental Bank (INBK.LG), Oceanic Bank (OCBK.LG) and Union Bank (UBNP.LG) and sacked their chief executives.

Reuters