The House of Representatives Committee on Finance Thursday said it had commenced preliminary investigations into the accounts of Access Bank Plc following allegations of  tax evasion.

Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin (PDP/Kano) who disclosed this in a chat with newsmen said the investigation was part of the committee’s agenda to harness all available revenue sources and ensure that the government was not short-changed by any public or private institution on the issue of revenue.
Jibrin alleged  that  in the course of the  preliminary investigation, the  committee  had  established  that Access Bank  had  a lot of inconsistencies on its tax remittance records.

“There are inconsistencies in their figures because in some instances they were found to have concealed their balance sheet and even doctored it to evade taxes,” Jibrin said.

The lawmaker further alleged that apart from Access Bank, a number of other business organisations and institutions were also involved in tax evasion.
The committee, he said, had already forwarded letters of invitation to Access Bank and other affected institution ahead of an investigative hearing that will be held on the matter.

He said the hearings will be conducted when the House resumes from the Easter holidays. The House had on Wednesday adjourned for the Easter recess and will resume plenary on April 16, 2013.

Source: Thisday (By Onwuka Nzeshi)