By Bakah Derick (Investigation)
An international Bank (name withheld) with a
Branch on the Bamenda commercial avenue has sacked more than 75% of its branch
office staff. The sacking which swept from the branch manager right down to cashiers
resulting in the resignation of others was
discovered and made public by some clients who wanted their naturally charismatic
manager who was noted for his friendly approach and were told he is no longer
in the bank.
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| Bamenda |
The disappointed client who spoke to
hilltopvoices said “I am Mr Martin a
civil servant. When I noticed that the manager of (name withheld) my bank was
not on seat I raised my worries only to realize that most of the staff were no
longer around.” Quizzed on whether he was told why the staff was not
around, he added “no but the way they are
speaking I am sure they have been sacked.”
When hilltopvoices now set on for an
investigation to establish the truth of the claim by the client there were
difficulties as several appointments with the new manager failed. However we
fought and got to an insider who acknowledged that some members of staff have
been sacked while others have resigned. According to this insider the bank
received two control teams in weeks within the last quarter of 2015 and “to me this was a bad signal. It was not long when dismissals started. I cannot
clearly tell you what the matter was but I realized that even some other
members of staff not sacked just resigned.”
Following contacts hilltopvoices established
with other branches of the bank in Bafoussam and Douala it emerged that the
matter was more than expected.
From what our inside sources gave us, the dismissals
followed a scandal originating from Britain. The insider (name withheld) said
on phone “I will not tell you in detail
but know that it has to do with issues of fake Bank statements issued by one of
Our Branch.” When I pushed further the staff retorted “please Derick you can use what I have given. I cannot go more than
this.”
When we decided to contact another source
inside the bank we were lucky this time around. This is the declaration Translated
from French “Mr Derick I am a well
trained and certified Banker and I do not care what happens to me. Let me tell
you the truth. The Bamenda branch has been involved in the issuing of fake bank
statements to people who travel abroad. Recently we had a case from the British
government of a Cameroonian who got such a fake bank statement but was found
stranded on the street of London. Derick you know that most European Countries demand
financial stability for those seeking entrance into their territory and the
only proof is a bank statement. So when this guy was found stranded they
started asking about his bank statement. It was then discovered that he had
money in an account in our Bank but he could not use. So contacts were made
back home here and it was realized that Bamenda was the creator of that account
and that is why many have been sanctioned. Many of the suspended workers are
denying and so investigations have been opened but for now they are not allowed
to come to the office.”
As it stands now a new team has taken over
the Bamenda office but there are fears the move may have a strong impact on the
business of the bank in the town.