Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) was fined between April and June 2024 in Ghana and Rwanda for contravening foreign exchange guidelines , Economy Post can authoritatively report.

GTB was fined an equivalent of N1.297 billion in Ghana in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 for “breaching foreign exchange market operational guidelines,” according to the bank’s Q2 2024 financial statement analysed by Economy Post.

In Rwanda, GTB was fined an equivalent of N311,000 in Q2 2024 for “non compliance with the exchange rate applied by commercial banks.” It was also fined for another contravention which was not related to foreign exchange contraventions.

READ ALSO: GTB heads for court after group’s financial foul play allegations

According to the bank’s financial statement, GTB was fined for “non compliance noted with respect to the Bank taking fees which are not allowed by the regulator.” By implication, GTB was fined for taking certain fees that were not allowed possibly by the National Bank of Rwanda, which is the banking regulator in the East African nation.

In Nigeria, the bank was fined four times for various contraventions between April and June 2024. It paid N8 million in penalties “in respect of 2023 CBN’s FX Examination on the Bank.”

GTB also paid N54 million penalty “in respect of Consumer Protection Regulations.” It further paid N124.25 million as fine “in respect of 2024 Compliance Related/Bank e-Mail Returns.” The lender equally paid N2 million penalty “in respect of 2024 CBN’s Mystery Shopping Exercise on the Bank.”

A GTB spokesperson did not respond to a question from Economy Post asking for a comment.

Allegations against GTB

A group known as GIC recently accused GTB of financial foul play, including opening accounts without customers’ consent, foreign exchange fraud and falsification of the 2024 half-year financial statement, Economy Post earlier reported.

READ ALSO: Customers slam GTB with 932 court cases, demand N596bn, $24m

Economy Post understands that GTB lawyers have, however, sued the group in a bid to clear the bank’s name.

In a viral video that circulated over the weekend, the group had said, “One of the corrrupt practices linked to Guaranty Trust Bank in Nigeria is unsolicited bank opening. This is a situation where a customer who did not approach the bank or show any interest in maintaining an account with the bank, yet the bank goes ahead to source for the customer’s information such as telephone number, date of birth and bank verification number to open an account for the customer without his or her consent.”

The group alleged that the aim of the practice by GTB was to increase the customer base of the bank, thereby giving it high ranking in terms of size, capacity and profitability.

The group noted that the unsolicited account opening is tantamount to breach of data privacy, identity theft and can expose innocent account holders to fraud.

GTB dismisses report, moves to court

However, the bank dismissed the report, saying it was all “false news.”

In a statement released by GTB on October 4, the bank said, “Based on the incessant release of false news reports on GTCO’s business activities, Results and its Management Team, it has become necessary to set the records straight and dispel attempts by certain groups to create a false narrative about the GTCO Brand and its Management.

“The false news articles which are being sponsored using the media, center around baseless allegations against the Group’s business activities and its Executive Management.

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“Being a responsible corporate citizen and a first class institution, GTCO Plc has taken swift and decisive legal actions against the various sources of these false reports, and will continue to use the full extent of the rule of law available to safeguard its reputation.”

It urged all customers, shareholders and stakeholders to disregard “all the allegations being peddled through various media platforms and handles,” noting that all of its executive management team would continue to operate in their full capacities as