UBA Denies Alleged Involvement in Turkey Coup

Obinna Chima with agency report

The United Bank for Africa Plc Tuesday denied any involvement in the recent failed coup in Turkey, saying a Turkish newspaper report linking it with the high treason was false and spurious.

A Turkish newspaper, Yenisafak, had alleged that a suspected financier of the coup in Turkey, ex- US commander, General John Campbell, transferred funds used to finance the coup through the Nigerian bank.

It stated that Campbell managed more than $2 billion transactions through UBA in Nigeria, using CIA links to distribute the money among the pro-coup military personnel in Turkey.

But UBA in a two paragraph statement by its Head of Communications, Charles Aigbe, dismissed the allegation saying it was in no way connected with the coup in the European country

It said: “UBA is aware of the on-going spurious media speculation linking our institution to recent events in Turkey. In the light of this, we believe it is necessary to categorically state that UBA has no involvement in or connection to these accusations, which are clearly false.
“We remain focused and firmly committed to delivering on our strategy to build Africa’s premier banking institution.”

The report by Yenisafak had alleged that the Nigerian branch of UBA was the main base for the last six-months of money transactions for the coup plotters.

It stated that millions of dollars were transferred from Nigeria to Turkey by a group of CIA personnel.
The money, which it said had been distributed to an 80-person special team of the CIA, was used to convince pro-coup generals. More than two billion dollars were allegedly distributed during the process leading to the coup.
It said after taking money from their bank accounts, the CIA team hand delivered it to the coup plotters under military dresses.

It also stated that ongoing investigations showed that Campbell had paid at least two secret visits to Turkey since May, until the day of the coup attempt.

The coup plot that was foiled by the comprehensive effort of Turkish Nation, including its citizens, politicians, media and police forces, was organized by the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) led-by a cleric Fethullah Gülen who had been living in self-exile in America for several years.

American Intelligence, Military and other institutions are accused of supporting the FETO leader Gülen.
According to Yenisafak, military sources said Campbell, who was the commander of ISAF between August 26, 2014 and May 1, 2016, had held some top secret meetings in Erzurum military base and Adana nicrlik Airbase.
It further alleged that if the coup attempt was successful, Campbell would visit Turkey in a short time, according to the sources.

The sources, it said, claimed that some familiar figures in the Eastern and South-eastern part of the country had taken active roles during the process, while the members of the Gülenist gang had been used in central and eastern region.

All officers who commanded a group of soldiers in a patrol station, unit, company, regiment, brigade, division, corps, or army were kept in close surveillance.
The Turkish paper said in 2015, the pro-Gülenist officers in the ncirlik base established an investigation desk, drawing the map of all soldiers under their command. They investigated the soldiers’ trends, their personalities and family background.

All soldiers were categorized in three groups: opponents, neutrals, and supporters.
A commander from the smallest patrol station to all military units had been blacklisted under the process.

Soldiers who were marked as opponents to the junta, were debarred from the “financial support.”
The military personnel who were in a neutral position received a difference in the amount of money, according to the importance of their position and ranks.

The money transactions were started in March 2015 through the commissioned “courier”.
The supports who also were categorized as “those who will move with us,” were provided a huge amount of money.