Dangote Industries Limited and BUA Group have become embroiled in a dispute over allegations that Dangote was being investigated for illegal foreign exchange dealings.

Dangote Group vehemently denied these allegations, accusing BUA of spreading false and damaging information about the company.

In a statement issued by Dangote Industries, the company refuted the claims of engaging in illicit foreign exchange transactions and cautioned against those propagating the allegations, suggesting they were involved in economic sabotage against the company.

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The reports stemmed from claims that a Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, appointed to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria during the tenure of former CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, was probing Dangote Industries for alleged illegal forex dealings and money laundering.

Dangote Industries dismissed these allegations as baseless, noting that they were reminiscent of a similar report circulated in 2016, which the company contended was maliciously promoted by BUA Group.

Dangote further stated that the current report was a rehashed version of the 2016 story, which was initially published by BusinessDay and Leadership Newspapers.

These newspapers later publicly apologized to Dangote Industries and retracted the story after acknowledging that the advertorial was sponsored by BUA Nigeria Limited.

Dangote Industries maintained that the foreign exchange used in its projects was sourced through interbank forex channels with the approval of the Central Bank.

Letters of Credit were established for various operational plant construction and heavy equipment procurement, all in compliance with CBN regulations.

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In response to Dangote’s rebuttal, BUA Group accused Dangote of engaging in acts of sabotage against its businesses across Nigeria.

BUA claimed that their Lagos sugar refinery had been established on land handed over by Dangote’s chairman’s late father, without any request for compensation.

The statement asserted that despite numerous challenges, including resistance to their floating terminal and efforts to deport their vessel’s expatriate crew, BUA Group had persevered.