Livingtrust Mortgage Bank Plc has refuted online reports alleging its involvement in proxy share acquisitions connected to money laundering.

The bank issued the clarification in a statement signed by Acting Company Secretary, Dorcas Ajayi, and posted on the Nigerian Exchange Group platform on Tuesday.

The reports, which appeared on media outlets on March 22, 2026, carried the headline: “Questions Mount Over Alleged Money Laundering Proxy Share Acquisition of Living
Tru-Crime-Nairaland.”

In its statement, the bank emphasized that it neither sponsored nor authorized the publication in question.

“Livingtrust Mortgage Bank Plc has been made aware of an online media report dated March 22, 2026, on Nairaland (and similar reports on other platforms) with the title ‘Questions Mount Over Alleged Money Laundering Proxy Share Acquisition of Living Tru-Crime-Nairaland.’

“We wish to inform the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and the public, particularly shareholders, that the publication was neither authorized nor sponsored by the bank,” the statement read.

The statement further explained that, as a company listed on the NGX Growth Board, shareholder transactions are part of normal business activities.

The bank noted that Apel Asset Ltd‑Nominee acquired 2.24% of its shares in June 2025, and by July 2025, these shares were recorded under Deril Academy Limited.

“In July 2025, Deril Academy Limited, along with other shareholders, attempted a takeover by filing a case in the Federal High Court, Lagos. The attempt failed, and the case has now been withdrawn.”

The media reports alleged that a money laundering scheme involved Livingtrust Mortgage Bank, citing a proxy acquisition of shares valued at nearly one billion naira (112,181,145 units) under the name of Deril Academy Limited.

The reports further claimed that funds from Osun State were used to support private shareholding interests in the bank, with a small private school in Ibadan allegedly serving as the channel.

Deril Academy Limited, based in Ibadan, reportedly runs a school with fewer than 300 students.

These allegations come amid ongoing challenges for the mortgage bank. Last month, the Central Bank of Nigeria reaffirmed Dr. Kamaldeen Adekilekun as the substantive Chairman of Livingtrust Mortgage Bank Plc, following an earlier request for him to step down.

In an official letter dated March 27, 2026, the CBN stressed that once board nominations and appointments are approved by the regulator, they are tenured and governed by the Code of Corporate Governance for Primary Mortgage Banks in Nigeria, and cannot be revoked arbitrarily without proper regulatory justification.