AMCON Says It Has Repaid ₦3.6 Trillion to CBN, Engages Global Asset Tracers as Recovery Drive Intensifies

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has announced that it has so far repaid approximately ₦3.6 trillion to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since its establishment in 2010, despite purchasing toxic bank assets worth ₦1.7 trillion. The corporation’s Managing Director/CEO, Gbenga Alade, disclosed this during a media parley in Lagos, offering rare insight into the agency’s financial performance, debt recovery strategies, and structural reforms.

Alade noted that AMCON still owes about ₦3 trillion, but emphasised that the corporation has significantly exceeded expectations when measured against global counterparts. He explained that AMCON’s intervention in the banking sector—through the acquisition of toxic assets and fresh capital injection—helped stabilise Nigeria’s financial system and restored public confidence.

He said the corporation’s actions align with global corporate insolvency restructuring principles: “AMCON restructured the banks by offloading toxic assets from their books and injecting fresh funds. This ensured that depositors retained confidence in the system because banks remained capable of honouring their obligations.”

Alade added that AMCON’s enabling law places the corporation at a higher legal advantage in debt disputes by giving it priority over other contractual and collateral claims—a structure designed to protect public interest during asset recovery.

In a significant update, the AMCON boss revealed that the corporation has hired international asset-tracing firms to uncover hidden assets belonging to major loan defaulters across the world. “Some obligors have moved their assets abroad. We have commissioned foreign asset tracers to locate them,” he said.

Reviewing financial performance under his leadership, Alade stated that AMCON recorded ₦156.25 billion in total revenue and ₦29.04 billion in operating expenses, amounting to an operating revenue-to-expense ratio of 19 percent. For 2025, the corporation projects ₦215.15 billion in total revenue and ₦29.06 billion in operating expenses, with an expected improved efficiency ratio of 13.5 percent.

Highlighting AMCON’s global ranking, Alade said the agency has achieved over 87 percent recovery, outperforming several international asset management corporations. He contrasted this with Malaysia’s Danaharta, widely regarded as a strong performer with a 58 percent recovery rate, and China’s AMC with 33 percent. He noted that only South Korea’s KAMCO surpassed AMCON with near 100 percent recovery due to aggressive recovery tactics.

Despite these achievements, Alade stressed that AMCON remains committed to full debt recovery, noting that several international AMCs—such as FDIC (USA), KfW (Germany), and China AMC—continue to operate decades after establishment due to evolving economic roles.

On legal reforms, the AMCON chief revealed that the corporation’s Executive Committee has engaged expert consultants to conduct a detailed audit of AMCON cases across the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court. He said the judiciary understands the scale of AMCON’s challenges and has approved a new Practice Direction for expedited adjudication of AMCON-related cases. The Federal High Court has also created a dedicated Insolvency Unit to accelerate pending matters.

Alade commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the judiciary, CBN, the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney General of the Federation, EFCC, ICPC, Police, National Assembly, and other agencies for their support. He affirmed AMCON’s continued commitment to due process, national interest, and transparent recovery procedures.

He cautioned journalists to be wary of misleading narratives from chronic debtors: “Many of them took the loans with no intention of repaying. They may try to use the media to distort the facts. But AMCON has accurate records, and our court victories speak for themselves.”

Concluding, Alade noted that AMCON’s recovery efforts have contributed significantly to Nigeria’s legal jurisprudence, including the publication of the first AMCON Legal Compendium—documenting landmark decisions from the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal.