By NaijaonpointOnline
Fresh questions have emerged over the ownership and funding trail behind two major shareholding blocks in Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, including a 13.31 billion-share block attributed to the company’s Chairman, Adeyemi “Yemi” Adeola, and a 16.67 billion-share holding controlled through the Sterling Closed Investment Fund.
Sterling’s 2025 financial statements show that Adeola was indirectly associated with 14,757,945,697 shares, representing about 27 percent of the company at the time. Of that figure, 13,314,911,284 shares, or 24.35 percent, were registered in the name of Silverlake Investments Limited. The company’s filings show that Silverlake’s holding increased from 7.20 billion shares in December 2024 to 13.31 billion shares in December 2025.
The arithmetic in Sterling’s disclosure is straightforward: the 13.31 billion Silverlake shares, combined with 1,443,034,413 other indirect shares, produce the 14,757,945,697 shares attributed to Adeola.
However, the corporate records examined for this report raise questions about the underlying ownership structure.
Silverlake: 13.3 Billion Shares, But Ownership Trail Remains Unclear
Silverlake Investments Limited, according to the records cited in the investigation, is listed by the Corporate Affairs Commission as inactive. Its corporate filings identify Barrister Antai Effiong and Engineer Eniza Peters as directors, while the ownership information available in the records does not identify the shareholders behind the company.
The investigation found no public document establishing why the entire 13.31 billion-share holding registered to Silverlake is treated in Sterling’s accounts as part of Adeola’s indirect interest.
Sterling’s financial statements identify Silverlake as a substantial shareholder holding 24.35 percent of the company as at December 31, 2025.
The same financial statements also state that directors’ interests are disclosed based on information notified to the company.
That raises a central question for regulators and investors: what legal or beneficial-ownership document connects Silverlake’s 13.31 billion shares to Adeola?
The investigation says its review of the 2025 audited report did not locate a trust deed, nominee agreement, declaration of interest or financing document publicly explaining that relationship.
That absence does not by itself establish wrongdoing, but it leaves an important part of the ownership structure unexplained in the public record.
The ₦75 Billion Closed Investment Fund
The second major block is held through CardinalStone Asset Management Limited, described in Sterling’s financial statements as the manager of the Sterling Closed Investment Fund.
The fund held 16,666,666,667 shares, representing 30.47 percent of Sterling Financial Holdings at December 31, 2025.
Together, the Sterling Closed Investment Fund and Silverlake accounted for 29,981,577,951 shares, or 54.82 percent, of Sterling Financial Holdings at year-end 2025.
The investigation says the closed fund arose from a ₦75 billion private placement and that public disclosures describe its investors generally as domestic investors and high-net-worth groups rather than identifying the individual beneficial owners.
That creates another transparency question: who ultimately owns or controls the 16.67 billion shares held through the fund?
The Corporate Affairs Commission’s beneficial-ownership framework specifically recognises individuals holding at least 5 percent directly or through a nominee as persons with significant control.
What the CBN Rules Say
The ownership issue is particularly significant because Sterling Financial Holdings is a financial holding company.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s corporate-governance guidelines state that, without prior written CBN approval, an agreement cannot result in the transfer of 5 percent or more of an FHC’s shareholding or increase an investor’s holding to 5 percent or more. The guidelines also provide for prior CBN approval before an investor acquires shares that would result in an equity holding of 5 percent or above.
Consequently, the documentation supporting substantial holdings, nominee arrangements and beneficial ownership is not merely a corporate-record issue; it is relevant to regulatory oversight of financial holding companies.
Silverlake’s Rapid Increase
The Silverlake position also expanded substantially within one year.
Its reported holding rose from:
7,197,604,531 shares — 15.83% in 2024
to 13,314,911,284 shares — 24.35% in 2025.
That represents an increase of more than 6.1 billion shares.
Based on the prices associated with Sterling’s capital-raising exercises cited in the investigation, the additional shares could represent an acquisition value running into tens of billions of naira. The precise funding source, however, is not established by the public filings reviewed for this report.
Questions Over the Funding Trail
The investigation further states that Sterling’s 2025 accounts disclosed only about ₦459 million in secured loans to related parties, while no publicly identified financing document explains who funded the accumulation of the additional Silverlake shares.
This does not establish that the shares were improperly funded.
Rather, it leaves unanswered questions about the source of funds, beneficial ownership and legal basis for attributing Silverlake’s holding to Adeola.
Regulatory Questions
The issues raised by the shareholding structure could potentially warrant clarification from the relevant corporate and financial regulators, particularly regarding:
1. The beneficial owners of Silverlake Investments Limited;
2. The legal basis for attributing Silverlake’s 13.31 billion shares to Adeola;
3. The source of funds used to increase Silverlake’s holding;
4. The identities of investors behind the Sterling Closed Investment Fund;
5. Whether all required CBN approvals and beneficial-ownership notifications were obtained;
6. Whether nominee arrangements, if any, were properly documented and disclosed.
The CBN’s rules expressly contemplate nominee arrangements in certain circumstances, meaning the existence of a nominee structure alone would not establish misconduct.
A Structure That Demands Answers
The available financial statements establish that two vehicles — Silverlake Investments Limited and the Sterling Closed Investment Fund — controlled more than half of Sterling Financial Holdings’ shares at December 31, 2025.
What remains less clear from the public documents reviewed is the complete chain connecting those corporate vehicles to the natural persons who ultimately own or control the shares.
For a publicly listed financial holding company, that distinction matters.
NaijaonpointOnline therefore puts the following questions to Sterling Financial Holdings, Yemi Adeola, CardinalStone Asset Management, the CBN, the SEC and the CAC:
Who ultimately owns the 13.31 billion Silverlake shares? Who financed their acquisition? What document establishes Adeola’s beneficial interest? Who are the ultimate beneficial owners of the 16.67 billion shares held through the Sterling Closed Investment Fund? And were all regulatory approvals and beneficial-ownership disclosures obtained?
Sterling Financial Holdings maintains an investor-relations archive containing its 2025 annual report and other regulatory disclosures.
*NaijaonpointOnline has presented these issues as questions arising from the available corporate and financial records. The existence of unexplained or unavailable documentation in the public record is not, by itself, proof of fraud, money laundering or other criminal conduct.