Business
More sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine crisis
BRUSSELS/MOSCOW – The European Union announced asset freezes and travel bans on 15 Russians and Ukrainians over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, but the measures were seen as less aggressive than sanctions imposed this week by the United States.
In Ukraine’s eastern city of Luhansk, hundreds of pro-Russian separatists stormed the regional government headquarters, unopposed by police, and the Ukrainian government said it had information that they also planned to seize the local television center.
The EU list published on Tuesday included senior Russian politicians but did not extend to companies, several of which were singled out by Washington when it extended its sanctions list on Monday.
Moscow immediately denounced the new EU measures, saying the Europeans were simply doing Washington’s bidding and should be ashamed of themselves. A senior Russian politician said Moscow was working on measures to counter the new sanctions.
But while Russian stock markets rallied after the announcement of less stringent EU sanctions than were expected, there were increasing signs that the Ukraine crisis was having an effect on key parts of the Russian economy.
Russian natural gas exporter Gazprom said further sanctions could disrupt gas sales to Europe and hit its business, while a Russian minister said U.S. restrictions on high-tech exports to Russia would be a blow to Russian companies in the sector.
The International Monetary Fund said it was preparing to cut its forecasts for Russian growth for the second time in less than a month. U.S. credit card firm Visa said it would suspend network services to two Russian banks sanctioned on Monday by the United States.
Those targeted by the EU included Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak, Ludmila Shvetsova, a deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament, Valery Gerasimov, chief of staff of Russia’s armed forces, as well as separatist leaders in Ukraine.
But the list did not include the heads of Russian energy giants such as Rosneft’s Igor Sechin, who had been included in the latest U.S. sanctions.
TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
The decision brings to 48 the number of people that the EU has put under sanctions for actions it says have undermined Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Russia annexed the Crimea region after Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president was ousted in February by protesters demanding closer links with Europe. Kiev and the West accuse Russia of stirring up a separatist campaign in the east, a charge Moscow denies.
On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on seven Russians and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The United States has been more aggressive in the penalties it has imposed on Russia than has the European Union, which depends heavily on Russia for energy and has close trading links.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the EU sanctions would not ease tensions in Ukraine, where the Kiev government is struggling to rein in pro-Russian separatists.
“Instead of forcing the Kiev clique to sit at the table with southeastern Ukraine to negotiate the future structure of the country, our partners are doing Washington’s bidding with new unfriendly gestures aimed at Russia,” the ministry said.
Despite a Ukrainian military operation to contain them, pro-Russian militants have seized public buildings in about a dozen towns and cities in Russian-speaking eastern and southeastern regions of Ukraine.
The separatists’ actions have led to accusations in the West and in Kiev that Russia is planning to annex those areas as it did with the Crimean peninsula.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov denied that on Tuesday, telling a Russian news website that Moscow was “not at all inclined to repeat the so-called Crimea scenario in southeastern Ukraine”.
Russian has massed tens of thousands of troops near the border with Ukraine. A NATO official said on Tuesday the alliance had seen no sign that they were withdrawing, despite a Russian statement that the troops had returned to their permanent positions.
SANCTIONS EFFECT
Western countries say sanctions are already having an effect on Russia by scaring investors into pulling out capital. The central bank has raised interest rates to support the ruble, and Russian firms are finding it harder to raise funds.
Gazprom, headed by Alexei Miller, an ally of Putin, and its managers have not been hit by U.S. or EU sanctions.
But the company, which meets a sizeable amount of Europe’s demand for gas, said a pricing row with the new government in Kiev could potentially lead to a disruption of its gas exports to the rest of Europe through pipelines crossing Ukraine.
“An expansion of the U.S., EU and other sanctions programs could adversely impact operations and the financial condition of the Gazprom Group,” it said in a report following publication of its 2013 financial results.
Long seen as a tool of Russian foreign policy, Gazprom has threatened to cut supplies to Ukraine over an unpaid gas bill it puts at more than $2 billion and warned this could lead to reduced deliveries to clients in Europe.
MILITARY OBSERVERS
In eastern Ukraine, the self-declared mayor of a separatist-held town said he would discuss the release of detained military observers only if the EU dropped sanctions against rebel leaders.
Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the de facto mayor of Slaviansk, told Interfax news agency the imposition of visa bans and asset freezes against Denis Pushilin, leader of the self-styled People’s Republic of Donetsk, and Andrei Purgin, another leader in the eastern region, “was not conducive to dialogue”.
The six observers were in Ukraine under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a democracy watchdog. They were detained last week after separatists said they had found a Ukrainian spy with them.
The mayor of eastern Ukraine’s biggest city was in a stable condition on Tuesday in a hospital in Israel, where he was flown after an assassination attempt.
Gennady Kernes, one of Ukraine’s most prominent Jewish politicians, was shot in the back on Monday in Kharkiv, and underwent surgery in Ukraine on Monday. Officials had said his injuries were life-threatening.
– REUTERS
The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation has uncovered financial irregularities amounting to ₦514 billion in the 2021 operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
The revelations were contained in a comprehensive audit report highlighting non-compliance and internal control weaknesses within Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) during the 2021 financial year.
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Breakdown of Infractions
The audit detailed four major financial discrepancies within NNPCL:
“Irregular Deductions: A total of ₦343.64 billion was deducted from domestic crude oil sales at source without proper documentation.
“Sinking Fund Deposits: ₦83.66 billion, categorized as miscellaneous income, was retained in a sinking fund account.
“Unauthorised Refinery Deductions: ₦82.95 billion was deducted from federation revenue purportedly for refinery rehabilitation.
“Unsubstantiated Payments: ₦3.75 billion was flagged for transactions related to petrol sales that lacked proper verification.
The Auditor-General’s report stated that these financial activities violated the 1999 Constitution and the Financial Regulations Act of 2009, underscoring significant lapses in compliance with statutory guidelines.
According to the report, NNPCL generated ₦484.73 billion from domestic crude oil sales in March and May 2021.
However, ₦343.64 billion was deducted for various purposes, including “Value Shortfall,” “Strategic Stock Holding Cost,” and “Pipeline Maintenance.”
The deductions were made unilaterally by NNPCL without adequate documentation or justification.
Additionally, the report flagged ₦50 billion of the net payable amount for May 2021 as unaccounted for, creating a significant gap in the federation’s revenue.
“Audit observed from the review of NNPC SAP payment record for March and May 2021 payments that the sum of ₦484.73bn was the gross amount generated for the sale of domestic crude for the months of March and May 2021.
“The sum of ₦343.64bn from the gross amount was unilaterally deducted from the gross domestic crude sales as NNPC Value shortfall, Strategic Stock Holding Cost, Crude Oil and Products Pipeline Losses, as well as the pipelines maintenance and management costs.
“The details of each of the cost components deducted were not provided for audit review. Hence, the reasons for the deductions could not be justified by the management.”
On the unremitted ₦50 billion from May 2021, the report noted: “In the month of May, the net payable that could have been remitted ought to have been ₦127.075bn, but only the sum of ₦77.075bn was remitted, leaving an unremitted balance of N50bn to the Federation Account, which has remained unaccounted for.”
The report attributed these anomalies to weaknesses in NNPCL’s internal control systems, warning of the risks they pose to public funds.
It read, “The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at NNPC, now NNPC Ltd. This is a potential loss of Federation revenue, diversion of public funds, or misapplication or misappropriation of funds.”
The success of the maiden edition of the Lagos Shopping Festival (LSF), Africa’s first 72-hour non-stop commerce and entertainment event has been credited to the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
This is the view of Managing Director/Chief Strategist of Chain Reactions Africa Ltd, Israel Jaiye Opayemi, one of the main organisers of the event.
According to Opayemi, though Chain Reactions Africa conceptualised the event, the festival could be rightly described as the Governor’s baby and owes its success to his leadership. “Firstly, the Lagos Shopping Festival could not have come to fruition if the Governor did not buy into our audacious plan when we first presented the idea to him during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Secondly, it was the Governor’s exemplary leadership of the project as its Chief Marketing Officer which attracted the buy-in of key sponsors like Zenith Bank, Tolaram Group, First Bank Plc, and Guinness Nigeria Plc,” Opayemi revealed.
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While the duo of Zenith Bank and First Bank provided their bank on wheel platforms for buyers at the Lagos Shopping Festival, they also supported the Vendors with special Point of Sale Machines with which to process payments from buyers. The banks were also seen marketing their diverse banking products to guests within the shopping arena.
For Tolaram, it was a time to support the citizens and give back to society. Guests at the Lagos Shopping Festival were freely given some of the products of the group such as PowerOil, Indomie and Kellogg’s packaged into goodie bags and given out to prospective buyers at the shopping arena. The Children’s Arena was however activated by Indomie with the children entertained by Santa Claus within a well-equipped arena manned by the Indomie Brands team and the Lagos State Safety Marshalls. The children were daily treated to free Indomie meals daily and given various gifts to go home with.
On its part, Guinness Nigeria came through as the real life of the Nigerian party by organizing product sampling activation for the teeming guests at the festival using brands such as Singleton, Johnnie Walker, Ciroc, Don Royale and Captain Morgan to deliver pleasant experiences to guests aside from Guinness and Malta Guinness.
While unveiling the identity of the festival last month, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had thanked the management of Zenith Bank Plc, Tolaram Africa Group, Guinness Nigeria Plc and First Bank of Nigeria for supporting the idea of a Lagos Shopping Festival, describing it as a value addition on the state’s tourism calendar and the overall efforts to grow the State’s GDP. The Governor further said, “I must specially acknowledge your pioneering sponsorship role. It is easy for a corporate sponsor to jump on the sponsorship band wagon of an already established festival and fund it. But you are supporting the maiden edition of this Lagos Shopping Festival with us. The competition is watching you now. Do not build this brand with us and yield the space for the competition to take over. I do hope you would all commit long term to this brilliant initiative.”
On his part, Girish Sharma, CEO Guinness Nigeria Plc, expressed enthusiasm for the initiative. “Lagos is the commercial heartbeat of Nigeria and Africa’s entertainment capital, and the Lagos Shopping Festival captures its essence. We see opportunities in this initiative because it is a creative fusion of commerce and entertainment. This partnership reflects our dedication to fostering economic opportunities and support the nation’s vibrant entertainment industry.”
A first-of-its-kind, the festival was a convergence of commerce and entertainment, bringing together buyers and sellers in the MSME ecosystem, and hordes of fun-seekers who were entertained with thrilling performances by A-list entertainers, including Adekunle Gold, Wande Coal, Teni, Young Jonn, BNXN, Ayo Maff, SB Live and EmmaOMG. The list also included some of Nigeria’s most sought after DJs such as DJ Neptune, DJ YK Mule, DJ Baddo while Gbenga Adeyinka the 1st and Larry J dished out rib-cracking comedy performances.
Held from 23rd to 25th Day of December 2024, at the iconic Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan Stadium, Lagos, the Lagos Shopping Festival saw thousands of fans throng the main venue and select Lagos malls during the three-day period to bag the latest bargains from local and top global brands.
The Nigerian Naira experienced mixed movements in the foreign exchange markets on Monday, as it depreciated to N1,665 per dollar in the parallel market, down from N1,660 per dollar recorded over the weekend.
In contrast, the official exchange rate saw the Naira appreciate to N1,534.56 per dollar, improving slightly from N1,535 per dollar last Friday, according to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
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This reflects a marginal gain of 44 kobo in the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
As a result, the gap between the parallel market rate and the NFEM rate widened to N130.44 per dollar, compared to the N125 per dollar margin recorded over the weekend.
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