The Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS) closed down Keystone Bank on Abak Road and Heritage Bank on Ikot Ekpene Road because they didn’t pay their overdue taxes, which added up to more than N228 million.
Shortly after the exercise on Thursday, Leo Umana, the Executive Director in charge of enforcement and debt recovery activities of the revenue board, spoke. He said that the banks were sealed because AKIRS got an order from the Uyo Division of the Akwa Ibom State High Court to distrain them.
He said Heritage Bank did not pay N100,270,910 while Keystone Bank did not pay N128,413,882 owed to the state government as tax liabilities.
Justice Effiong Effiong signed the court order, which said that access to the bank and its facilities should be limited. The two banks have not been sending the correct amount of taxes from employee salaries and other taxes meant for the state,” he said.
Umana stated that the banks were given warning notices but did not follow through after a few months.
He said that AKIRS had tried everything they could to make peace and talk things out with the financial organizations before deciding to take them to court.
According to him, the banks that receive the notice to distrain have 14 days to talk with AKIRS and cancel the order.
“If they don’t follow the rules within 14 days, the court can make us sell the property to get back the money they owe the state,” he said.
