The former chief executive of the London unit of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Maurice Chido, was arrested last year as part of a bribery probe in the UK.
People familiar with the case said Mr Phido was detained by police in May 2017 but later released on bail.
His term as chief executive officer in London ended on May 26, 2017, according to the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s register of approved persons.
He has returned to Nigeria and has not been charged with any offence.
An official from the UK National Crime Agency hinted at the case this week when he told a crowd of lawyers at a conference in Cambridge, England, about an arrest of the head of a London unit of a foreign bank, without revealing the individual’s identity or saying when the arrest took place.
Nigel Kirby, the deputy director of the NCA’s economic crime unit, said that the case is being evaluated by prosecutors after a seven-month investigation found possible corruption.
The person Kirby was describing was Phido, according to a source which did not wish to be named.
Phido’s arrest was not directly related to Union Bank and his case was discussed by the bank’s board of directors, said the source.
Union Bank in an emailed statement quoted by the Financial Times said: “Union Bank UK would like to state that it has not been nor is the bank currently the subject of any bribery investigation.”
It added that Phido no longer works for the bank.
