The Nation Newspaper

Tag: EFCC

  • Money-laundering: Fani-Kayode knows fate Wednesday

    Judgment will be delivered on Wednesday in the trial of a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.

    The former Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign was accused of money laundering.

    Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia chose not to deliver the verdict on the earlier date, June 18, because the prosecution counsel, Mr. Festus Keyamo, was absent.

    Fani-Kayode was accused of making a transaction exceeding N500,000 on September 20, 2006, which was not done through a financial institution.

    Fani-Kayode, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, collected N2.1 million cash paid into his personal bank account by his aide, Supo Agbaje, while he served as Minister of Culture and Tourism.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty to the alleged offence which the EFCC aid contravenes the Money Laundering Act.

    The judge had, last November 17, directed Fani-Kayode, to defend two of 40-count money laundering charges.

    The judge held that the commission did not prove the other charges sufficiently and partially upheld Fani-Kayode’s no-case submission.

     

  • Judge withdraws from Babalakin’s suit against AGF, EFCC

    Judge withdraws from Babalakin’s suit against AGF, EFCC

    Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High, Lagos, on Monday withdrew from adjudicating over a fundamental rights suit filed by Chairman of Bi-Courtney Limited, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN).

    It follows Babalakin’s petition to the Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta, praying him to re-assign the case to a different judge.

    The suit is a fundamental rights enforcement action against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Babalakin is seeking an order barring them from arraigning him on criminal charges filed at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.

    Through his lawyers Wale Akoni (SAN) and Abiodun Layonu (SAN), Babalakin in the June 19 petition, said there was no guarantee he would get justice from Justice Tsoho.

    According to him, the judge vacated an interim injunction he made on April 29, barring the respondents from going on with the proposed arraignment pending the determination of the fundamental rights enforcement suit.

    In the ruling, Justice Tsoho said the ex-parte order granted Babalakin was intended as a brief intervention to prevent injury and not meant to last a long time.

    He explained that the order had outlived its lifespan and was no longer valid.

    “If the applicants had filed their application early, the respondent would have responded appropriately. But this case will be adjourned without an award of cost. An ex-parte order is meant to be a brief intervention to prevent injury and not meant to last a long time.

    “Therefore, the order has outlived its life span and is hereby discharged, but the respondent should not take any action that will jeopardise this proceeding,” the judge said.

    Before the ruling was delivered, EFCC’s lawyer Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) had prayed the court to discharge the restraining order.

    He said it had been abused by the applicant who he said failed to file the rights enforcement application within the five days interval ordered by the court, but instead served it on the respondent at the court premises almost 30 days later, contrary to the court’s order.

    However, Babalakin’s lawyers said the judge discharged the order “without a formal application from the respondents.” They prayed that the case be re-assigned to another judge.

    Babalakin had in April sought to stop the AGF and the EFCC from arraigning him again on an alleged N4.7billion fraud.

    A Lagos State High Court had in February this year discharged him from the allegation.

    Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, who discharged Babalakin, his two companies, Bi-Courtney Limited and Stabilini Visinoni Limited, along with one Alex Okoh, and his company, Renix Nigeria, described the 27-count charge filed against them as being “incurably bad.”

    The judge had held that none of the 27 counts filed by the EFCC against Babalakin and others constituted an offence under the laws of Nigeria.

  • Workers to EFCC: probe governors owing salary

    Workers to EFCC: probe governors owing salary

    The Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate former and serving governors for allegedly squandering resources.

    The union alleged that some of the governors used government money to finance campaigns during the elections, while the workforce was being owed salary for many months.

    The union, in a communiqué issued at the end of a one day meeting in Abuja, described as unfortunate a situation where some states and local governments  could not pay workers and other mandatory deductions for many months due to corruption.

    The union said it had become necessary for the anti graft agency to beam its searchlight into the activities of the affected governors.

    It alleged that some former and serving governors wasted the resources in paying for inflated contracts and other personal expenses including chartered flights, sponsoring of political campaigns, bogus security votes and payment of severance allowances.

  • EFCC to rectors: curb corruption

    EFCC to rectors: curb corruption

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has warned heads of higher institutions of learning to curb corruption.

    The Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Ibrahim Lamorde, spoke in Kaduna yesterday while addressing rectors and provosts of polytechnics and specialised institutions at a workshop organised by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

     The EFCC boss said: “Time does not run out on criminal investigation and prosecution.  If you neglect to do what you should today, EFCC may come knocking on your door. Make transparency and accountability your guiding principles today or you are held accountable for your failure to check corruption in your institution, even long after you must have left it.”

    The EFCC boss, who was represented by the Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, Mr Osita Nwojah, told the rectors and provosts that his commission would not condone any form of financial crime.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. MacJohn Nwaobiala,  said the number of petitions received on corruption in the polytechnics was alarming. Nwaobiala was represented by the Director, Tertiary Education Department, Hajiya Hindatu Abdullahi.

  • EFCC arraigns two for hacking into Enterprise Bank’s database

    EFCC arraigns two for hacking into Enterprise Bank’s database

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned two men for allegedly attempting to hack into the database of Enterprise Bank Plc.

    The suspects are Ola Lawal, Abass Ajide while the third person Olumide Kayode was said to be at large.

    The defendants were arraigned on a four count charge  bordering on conspiracy to defraud, felony, stealing and forgery before the court presided over by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo.

    According to the prosecution, Seidu Atteh, the suspects conspired to defraud Enterprise Bank by hacking into the bank’s network with their laptop, router model and grabber/key logger to obtain the password of key operations staff through the Central Processing Unit (CPU).

    He said the defendants aimed to access the network of the bank without authority to conduct fraudulent transactions.

    Atteh alleged that the defendants wanted to access the CPU to conduct fraudulent transactions and transfer unauthorised money into other accounts.

    He also alleged that the second defendant, Ajibade forged a Certificate of National Diploma purportedly issued by The Polytechnic of Ibadan to one Ajibade Abass Rotimi with matriculation number 029511.

    He said the offences were committed on July 10, last year within Ikeja Judicial Division.

    According to him, the offences are contrary to Sections 323, 361(1)(e), and 409 and punishable under Sections 285(1) and (363)(1) of   the Criminal Laws No. 11, Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

    When the charges were read, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge.

    The court did not take their plea as Justice Lawal-Akapo ordered them to be remanded in Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos pending when their application would be heard.

    He subsequently adjourned the matter till October 26, this year.

  • EFCC arraigns two for hacking into Enterprise Bank’s database

    EFCC arraigns two for hacking into Enterprise Bank’s database

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned two men for allegedly attempting to hack into the database of Enterprise Bank Plc.

    The suspects are Ola Lawal, Abass Ajide while the third person Olumide Kayode was said to be at large.

    The defendants were arraigned on a four count charge  bordering on conspiracy to defraud, felony, stealing and forgery before the court presided over by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo.

    According to the prosecution, Seidu Atteh, the suspects conspired to defraud Enterprise Bank by hacking into the bank’s network with their laptop, router model and grabber/key logger to obtain the password of key operations staff through the Central Processing Unit (CPU).

    He said the defendants aimed to access the network of the bank without authority to conduct fraudulent transactions.

    Atteh alleged that the defendants wanted to access the CPU to conduct fraudulent transactions and transfer unauthorised money into other accounts.

    He also alleged that the second defendant, Ajibade forged a Certificate of National Diploma purportedly issued by The Polytechnic of Ibadan to one Ajibade Abass Rotimi with matriculation number 029511.

    He said the offences were committed on July 10, last year within Ikeja Judicial Division.

    According to him, the offences are contrary to Sections 323, 361(1)(e), and 409 and punishable under Sections 285(1) and (363)(1) of   the Criminal Laws No. 11, Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

    When the charges were read, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge.

    The court did not take their plea as Justice Lawal-Akapo ordered them to be remanded in Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos pending when their application would be heard.

    He subsequently adjourned the matter till October 26, this year.

  • N27.5b theft: Court frees Atuche, two others

    N27.5b theft: Court frees Atuche, two others

    A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has struck out a N25.7 billion charge brought against a former managing director of the defunct Bank PHB, Francis Atuche, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

    The EFCC had arraigned Atuche and his wife, Elizabeth, alongside a former Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu in court for allegedly stealing N25.7billion belonging to the bank, while the first defendant (Atuche) was the Chief Executive Officer.

    Delivering judgment in the matter on Monday, the trial judge, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, dismissed the charge for lack of jurisdiction.

    The judge said the prosecution’s case lacked merit.

    “I find no merit in the prosecution’s application, it is hereby dismissed. The defendants’ application dated November   27, 2013 succeeds and I hereby make the following orders:

    “The criminal charge in this suit is hereby struck out and the accused persons namely- Francis Atuche, Elizabeth Atuche and Ugo Anyawu are discharged. The complainant’s notice of plenary objection dated December 3, 2013 is hereby dismissed.”

    Counsels to the defendants, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) and Sylvia Ogwemoh (SAN) had in separate applications asked the court to quash the charge, citing the Court of Appeal judgment of November 21, 2013.

     

  • EFCC probes 10 stockbrokers, others over shares fraud, impersonation

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating 10 stockbroking firms and 12 individual stockbrokers and officials as part of a large-scale crackdown on shares fraud that has seen 31 stockbroking firms and several stockbrokers internally investigated and sanctioned by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) over the past 42 months.

    Two official reports on shares fraud, also known as unauthorised sales of investors’ shares, obtained at the weekend by The Nation indicated that the NSE, Nigeria’s only stock exchange, had invited the EFCC to further investigate and prosecute 12 stockbroking firms and 21 stockbrokers and officials, who were primarily indicted by the internal investigations of criminal financial fraud.

    The EFCC has already concluded investigations and charged two stockbroking firms and nine persons to court while the anti-fraud agency is currently investigating 10 stockbroking firms and 12 persons connected with the firms or individually cited for shares fraud.

    All the cases referred to the EFCC were initially investigated and indicted by the Disciplinary Committee of the Council of the Exchange, NSE’s adjudicatory body which deals with heinous market infractions and investors’ complaints.

    The reports indicated that the all the firms and officials were allegedly indicted by the disciplinary committee for unauthorised sale of investors’ shares while some others were also indicted for issuance of dud cheques, impersonation and illegal conversion of dividend warrants.

    An official of the NSE at the weekend confirmed the cases under investigation by the EFCC, noting that the two reports were up to date and accurately represented the state of affairs as at press time.

    The investigations and prosecutions by the EFCC highlighted the anti-fraud campaign at the stock market to checkmate hard-pressed stockbroking firms and unscrupulous officials, who fiddled with investors’ shares.

    A report on shares fraud over the past 42 months indicated that 31 firms were investigated for unauthorised sale of shares. The report by the NSE covered the period between January 2012 and June 15, 2015.

    The report showed that nearly half of the shares frauds have been completed and the indicted stockbroking firms made to restitute the investors, a general reference to order to buy back the shares or pay the investor the value of the shares and all his entitlements.

    According to the report, 15 stockbroking firms and four individuals have pending cases, although the NSE has taken preemptive measure of suspending the stockbroking firms and stockbrokers. The pending cases have been referred to the disciplinary committee of the council of the NSE.

    Among the stockbroking firms under EFCC investigation are Lakesworth Securities Limited, Byfotel Trust & Securities Limited, Gosord Securities Limited, Securities Solutions Limited, ITIS Securities Limited, Mact Securities Limited, Giljohn Investment Limited, First Equity Securities Limited, Omas Investment & Trust Limited and Mayfield Investment Limited.

    The report also listed the names of 12 officials that are also being investigated.

    The NSE had launched an online whistleblowing portal through which investors and other stakeholders can tip off the Exchange on perceived or known infractions.

    The online portal, known as X-Whistle, allows members of the public to submit information without disclosing their identity while it also provides reference that allows the whistleblower to track NSE’s response and investigation on the tip off.

     

     

  • N8b fraud: Court grants five bankers bail

    … Refuses 10 others’ bail application

    A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan on Friday granted bail to five out of the 22 accused Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks’ staff facing trial over their alleged involvement in N8billion currency fraud.

    The Presiding Judge, Justice Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court two, Ibadan, in a two- hour ruling on bail applications filed by the counsel‎ to the accused and counter applications by the counsel to the prosecutor, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), held that the cases against the accused were too weighty especially if the account balance and property allegedly acquired from the fraud are anything to go by.

    They were all facing a 28-count charge ranging from conspiracy, abuse of office, stealing to false declaration of actual amount, concealing of property and fraudulently acquiring assets in excess of their legitimate and provable income.

    The offence, as contained in a charge sheet read out to the accused persons is punishable under section 7(2) of the Bank Employees etc. (Declaration of Assets) Act, CAP. B1, Laws of the Federal Republic, Nigeria 2004.

    Justice Faji agreed with the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) that the suspects are in possession of sums of money in excess of their legitimate earnings.

    He pointed out that some of them have bank account balance running into several millions of naira which was a far cry from what they earn as staffers or contract staff they claimed to be.

    He said notwithstanding that all the 15 accused persons had pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them, they all have cases to answer.

    By their individual and collective activities while the frauds were going on, the judge held that they had severally increased the value of money in circulation thereby committing economic crimes with its attendant rise in inflation.

    He decided all the cases on merit of their applications, affidavits and counter affidavits pleaded before him.

    The four cases expeditiously decided on Friday were FHC/IB/31c/2015 involving eight bankers, FHC/IB/32c/2015 involving six bankers, FHC/IB/33c/2015 comprising five bankers and FHC/IB/34c/2015 which also comprised five bankers.

    The names of CBN staff are – Kolawole Babalola, Toogun Kayode Philips and Olaniran Muniru Adeola.

    They all featured in all the four cases.

    However, Justice Faji who ordered all the eight bankers in the first case remanded in Agodi prison having refused their bail application in view of the weighty nature and evidence before the court, granted the bail application of the 6th defendant in second case, Ademola Ebenezer Adewale.

     

  • EFCC arraigns Filipinos, others over illegal crude oil dealing

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday arraigned nine Filipinos and Bangladeshis for allegedly attempting to export crude oil out of Nigeria without license.

    They pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge before Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

    They are – Axel Jabone, Zahirul Islam, Juanito Infantado, Suarin Alave, Gatila Gadayan, Islam Shahinul, Islam Rafiqul, Shaikh Nomany and Rolando Comendador. They were charged along with a vessel, MT Asteris.

    EFCC said the accused persons, on March 27, conspired among themselves to deal in 3,423.097 metric tonnes of crude oil without lawful authority.

    They were alleged to have stored the crude oil in MT Asteris cargo tanks marked 1C, 3C and 4C without license, and had attempted to export the crude from Nigeria.

    The alleged offences contravene sections 1 (17) (a), 1 (19)(6) and 1 (17) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under sections 17 and 1(19)(a) of the Act.

    By storing the crude oil without license, the commission said they committed an offence contrary to Section 4 of the Petroleum Act, Cap P10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

    Justice Buba granted them baill in the sum of N50million each with two sureties in like sum, who must be Nigerians and must swear to an affidavit of means.

    If the sureties are not Nigerians, they must produce bank guarantees worth the bail amount and the defendants must deposit their international passports.

    Their trial will begin on June 23.