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Information reaching the New Statesman indicates that panic has gripped some top politicians in Ghana who have allegedly stashed tens of millions of dollars in accounts at banks in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Some top Ghanaian politicians and their wives are said to be among African politicians who owe fat accounts with banks in Dubai. Majority of the affected politicians are said to be Nigerians, who are currently the target of the banks.

The affected politicians are said to have been hit by panic following directive by the Apex Bank in that country to its commercial banks to freeze all accounts belonging to Nigerians, especially politicians.

According to the Nigerian Voice (www.thenigerianvoice.com), thousands of Nigerians with bank accounts in Dubai have already received notices that their bank accounts have been closed, without explanation.

“Some say the banks are trying to eliminate risk, but a source in the United Arab.

Emirates, Ministry of Finance, said that the policy is to prevent money laundering, especially from Nigerian politicians hiding under the pretext of paying school fees for their children to smuggle millions of dollars into the country,” the paper reported.

The move is said a fallout of the country’s new Central Bank Laws prohibiting Nigerians not working the UAE from possessing accounts in any local or foreign banks.

With the new monetary laws by the Emirate apex bank, all accounts of Nigerians that are not linked to work in the UAE are said to have been closed and cheques issued in favour of the customers cashable in five working days.

According to the paper, it has been “revealed that politicians who have stashed away huge sums of money in Dubai and other location in the UAE are already panicking over the fate of their money and are moving to safeguard their finances,”

“It’s going to be a huge scandal for politicians and businessmen who go to Dubai to hide their money. And if really they are closing non salary accounts of Nigerians in Dubai, we are going to see something we have never seen before, scandals,” a top government sources said.

Meanwhile, influential politicians with huge sums of money in Dubai are said to be mounting pressure on the Federal government to intervene and prevent a breakdown of diplomatic ties between them and their countries.