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Tag: EFCC

  • $2.8m airport haul: EFCC alerts CBN Governor as firm, Union Bank kick

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has officially alerted Central Bank (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele to last Thursday’s interception of $2.8million at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.

    The anti-graft agency has already commenced investigation into the source and purpose of the huge cash-in-transit, with a private firm, Bankers Warehouse Limited, and Union Bank kicking over the EFCC’s seizure of the money.

    The company and Union Bank said separately yesterday that the men arrested along with the funds were on a lawful assignment.

    An EFCC source told The Nation yesterday in Abuja that the organization had alerted the CBN Governor on “the seizure of the $2.8million. We expect the apex bank to cooperate with us on this case.

    “But investigation is ongoing to ascertain what informed the movement of such a huge amount, the beneficiaries and the final destination of the cash.

    “Going by the extant laws, the suspects ought not to be in possession of this amount of money. They are in custody undergoing interrogation and we will inform the public accordingly.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “Our detectives will interact with some officials of Union Bank and those in charge of the conveying company.

    “By financial regulations, the huge cash ought to be transferred not hauled. It is strange that CIT operators now haul foreign currency in huge volume. This is why we suspect a case of money laundering.”

    But Bankers Warehouse insisted, in a letter to the CBN, that its staff were on a legal mission.

    The letter signed by BW Head of Operations, Dr. Lawrence Ijebor, said: “I want to convey to you that once again, we are facing a challenge with one of the security agencies (this time the EFCC), which detained our couriers yesterday evening while attempting to board an Arik Air flight from Enugu to Lagos, conveying currency on behalf of Union Bank. They were transporting US dollar.

    “When questioned, they presented their identity cards, identifying themselves as Bankers Warehouse employees on official Cash-In-Transit (CIT) movement and also provided the letter of authority issued by the bank converting that movement.

    “Despite the information provided, the EFCC insisted on detaining our employees, taking possession of our goods and threatening to confiscate the currency without making themselves available to our senior managers or other agencies familiar with our movements.

    “Our attention has been drawn to an article  in a newspaper and EFCC website where our staff have been paraded as suspected money launderers, exposing the identity of our client and portraying our company in not just a negative but criminal light.

    “We seek your intervention as our regulator to address this issue of constant harassment of our staff by security agencies which constitutes a risk that could threaten the lives and safety of our employee and the cargo they are tasked with conveying.

    “Also, kindly recall that the CBN had previously called a meeting of stakeholders regarding this issue in the past. It may be prudent to engage the stakeholders once again to provide clarity on the legitimacy, coverage and mode of operations of registered CIT operators.”

    The management of Union Bank also deplored the action of the EFCC.

    The bank, in tweets on its official Twitter page yesterday said: “Movement of cash across states is routine for all banks. Bankers Warehouse is licensed by CBN to provide Cash-in-Transit services,” the bank said.

    “We are surprised by the release of a news bulletin prior to the completion of @officialefcc investigation. This is a legitimate and routine operation consistent with banking.”

    The EFCC, responding to claims by the company and Union Bank yesterday said officials of Bankers Warehouse and Union Bank refused to honour invitations by it.

    Acting spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade, said investigations were still on and the outcome of the probe would determine the agency’s next line of action.

    He added, “On the Union Bank saga, the way forward is that investigation is ongoing.

    “On the detention of their staff and threat to confiscate the money, this is neither here nor there. The two men arrested with the money were detained because they have to offer relevant information.

    “The bank refused to honour invitation from the time of the arrest until we had to go out with the story. That was when they suddenly realised they need to honour the invitation. Be that as it may, a thorough investigation has to be carried out as to the source and legitimacy of the money because we are not unaware that some financial institutions are being used to launder money.”

  • $2.8m laundered fund: Investigation ongoing, says EFCC

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says investigation is ongoing in a bank saga where two suspects were intercepted with 2.8 million dollars at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
    The money is believed to belong to a bank.
    EFCC Acting Spokesman, Mr Tony Orilade, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
    NAN reports that the suspects were arrested on Thursday.
    “Upon their arrests, they were caught with consignments of two suitcases, containing $1.4 million each, totalling $2.8 million, at the departure lounge of the airport while about to board an Arik Air evening flight to Lagos.

    “During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they have been in the business of conveying cash for “some notable banks” for over six years and were in the process of doing same” for another bank when they were caught.

    Orilade said the bank refused to honour EFFC’s invitation from the time of the arrest until the commission “had to go out with the story”.

    “That was when they suddenly realised they need to honour the invitation.

    “The two men arrested with the money were detatined because they have to offer relevant information.
    “Be that as it may,  thorough investigation has to be carried out as to the source and legitimacy of the money because we are not unaware that some financial institutions have yielded to being used to launder money.
    “The way forward is that investigation is ongoing.
    “Further investigation will reveal the next line of  action,” Orilade said.(NAN)

  • Union Bank reacts to EFCC $2.8M confiscated at Enugu Airport

    The Management of Union Bank has reacted to the arrest of two men by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Enugu Airport.

    The EFCC had on Friday paraded two men, alleged by the commission to be fraudsters caught with $2. 8 million.

    The bank in a series of tweets posted on its official twitter handle said the operation was licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    “Movement of cash across states is routine for all banks. Bankers Warehouse is licensed by CBN to provide Cash-in-Transit services” the bank said.

    “We are surprised by the release of a news bulletin prior to the completion of @officialefcc investigation. This is a legitimate and routine operation consistent with banking”.

    Also, Bankers Warehouse, a company licensed by CBN to carry out both Cash Management (CM) and Cash-In-Transit (C-I-T) in a letter to the bank regulator said it was on a legitimate business.

    Bankers warehouse head operations, Lawrence Ijebor, said EFCC still detained it employees despite providing identification.

    The letter reads, “When questioned, they presented their identity cards identifying themselves as bankers warehouse employees on official CIT movementaand also provided the letter of authority provided by the bank covering that movement”.

    “Despite the information provided, the EFCC insisted on detaining our employees, taking possession of our goods and threatening to confiscate the currency, without making themselves available to our senior managers or other agencies familiar with our movements”.

    “We seek your intervention as our regulator, to address this issue of constant harassment of our staff, by security agencies.”

  • EFCC intercepts $2.8m cash at airport

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has intercepted $2.8 million (about N1.02 billion) cash at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu from two people suspected to be money launderers.

    The suspects, Ighoh Augustine and Ezekwe Emmanuel, were said to be working for a company called Bankers Warehouse.

    Besides the arrest, the EFCC is also tracking some politically exposed persons (PEPs) trying to move slush funds through Ghana, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for 2019 elections.

    Some of the PEPs were said to have become desperate in selling slush-cash induced properties to finance their 2019 political ambitions.

    According to a statement signed by the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade, the suspects were arrested in Enugu on Thursday.

    The statement said: “The EFCC intercepted $2.8 million from two people suspected to be money launderers at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

    “The suspects allegedly working for a company, Bankers Warehouse, were nabbed based on intelligence report.

    “Upon their arrest, they were caught with consignments of two suitcases containing $1.4 million each, totalling $2.8 million, at the departure lounge of the airport while about to board an Arik Air evening flight to Lagos.

    “During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they have been in the business of conveying cash for ‘some notable banks’ for over six years and were in the process of doing same for Union Bank Plc located at New Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, when they were caught.

    “The suspects further confessed that they had so far carried out such assignments, ‘four times this year.’

    “They are presently giving useful information to operatives of the Commission and will be charged to court soon.”

    Meanwhile, the EFCC has started tracking some politically exposed persons (PEPs) who are trying to repatriate slush funds through Ghana, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

    A top source in the anti-graft agency, who spoke in confidence, said: “We are really monitoring campaign finances. Some desperate ones, especially politically exposed persons who looted public resources in the past, are trying to repatriate the funds for campaign. Our interest is in recovering the looted cash.

    “Some donors, who have been on our watch-list as suspected money launderers, are also being tracked. We want to reduce corruption and the use of public funds to fund political parties and finance elections.

    “Based on intelligence, some of these politically exposed persons are trying to use Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Ghana as transit routes.

    “We will try to bring these criminal politicians to book in line with the relevant laws.”

  • EFCC parades 10 American impostors in Rivers

     

    The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on Thursday paraded 10 persons suspected to be yahoo boys for impersonating American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan.

    The suspects were paraded at the commission’s head office in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Head of operation Nnaghe Obono Itam said the suspects impersonated American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan to defraud American citizens.

    Itam said the suspects used American tunes to extort money from their victims and warned the public against releasing their account numbers to persons.

    He said: “We have noticed that within the last three months, we have the issue of yahoo yahoo boys who appeared to have resurfaced again.

    “I am glad to say that with the partnership of the Federal SARS we were able to apprehend some of them”

    “The most interesting aspect of it is that we still find people that fall prey to this scam.

    “We have Nigerians who pretended that they are American Soldiers that came from Afghanistan and were talking to the Americans as if they are Americans soliciting for fund”

    “They extorted money from them through I-tunes. The kind of the I-tunes is $100. They find it difficult to collect the money from Nigeria but they collect I-tunes from them and dispose it online in dollars”

    “We have four of them in our custody. We still have others who pretended to be American soldiers working and talking to their victims that there were lots of mineral deposits such as gold.

    “They contact people online in China asking them to come and buy the mineral deposits.

    “In Nigerian they collect N5, 000 each from the unsuspecting public, which they receive from banks from Nigeria.”

    He said that the Commission made recovery of cash and forfeitures to the tune of N1,674,891,899 , $552,368.55 and 5,225 euros while it secured 33 convictions in the year ending.

     

  • EFCC arraigns captain, other over alleged $5m fraud

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) on Monday arraigned Victor Uadiale and Captain Everest Nnaji before an Ikeja Special Offences Court over alleged $5million fraud.

    Uadiale and Captain Nnaji are facing a three-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence to the tune of over $5million before Justice Mojisola Dada.

    The defendants however pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them.

    In view of their pleas, the prosecution counsel, Nnemeka Omewa, informed the court that the prosecution was ready to commence trial.

    However, counsels to the first and second defendants Abimbola Akeredolu (SAN) and Akinpelu Adekunle respectively objected to the submission by the prosecution counsel.

    The defence counsels argued they were not prepared for trial and asked the court for a short date.

    Justice Dada, however, overruled the objections of the defence team and ordered the prosecution to open its case.

    Led in evidence by Omewa, the first prosecution witness, Tawfeeq Al-Omar, the victim of the fraud, narrated to the court how he was lured into Nigeria by one Mohammed Lawal Abdullahi, who claimed he was visiting his relative, a diplomat in the Kuwaiti Embassy.

    Al-Omar said that he had several meetings with Lawal who told him that he was a business partner with Uadiale and Nnaji and that they could supply Urea Fertilizer to him.

    Based on this representation, he came down to Nigeria and met with the defendants who informed him that they had a deal with NAFCON to lift Urea fertilizer.

    He thereafter, made payments to them on several occasions.

    The victim also told the court that while the transactions were going on, the suspects told him that they could also supply Bonny Light Crude Oil and he made more payments. He said however, did not get the product nor  a refund of his money.

    Justice Dada has adjourned the matter to December 20, 2018 for the argument of bail application.

    The court also fixed January 15 and 16, 2019 for continuation of trial.

     

     

  • Alleged N4.75bn, $5m fraud: Ex-Skye Bank’s Chair, MD, arraigned

    *Each gets N50m bail

    Former Chairman and Managing Director of Skye Bank Plc (now Polaris Bank) – Tunde Ayeni and Timothy Oguntayo – have been arraigned in relation to alleged money laundering offences involving about N4.75billion and $5million.

    Ayeni and Oguntayo were arraigned on Monday before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja on an eight-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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    The duo, who was accused of committing the alleged offences between 2014 and 2015, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read.

    Their lawyers applied for bail on their behalf, applications the judge granted, admitting each of the defendants to bail at N50million each.

     

    …Details later.

  • EFCC board

    Must appointments to the top leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC court one form of controversy or the other? Or is there anything in the nature of such appointments that predisposes them to controversy?

    These are the questions that confront discerning minds following rowdy reactions at senate plenary last Tuesday when a letter containing the list of President Buhari’s nominees to the EFCC board came up for confirmation. In that list, the president had nominated four persons into the board namely: Ndasule Moses (North-central), Lawan Mamman (Northeast), Galadanci Imam Najip (Northwest) and Adeleke Adebayo Rafiu (Southwest).

    The Senate Committee Chairman on Anti-Corruption, Chukwuka Utazi while presenting the report recommended the confirmation of the nominees based on their qualifications, experience and suitability. But he was quick to note that the nominations fell short of the federal character principle as it shunted out the Southeast and the South-south from the board of the commission.

    The committee noted that “this is not in strict compliance with the Federal Character Principle as provided for in Section 14 (3) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” and that it was making the observation to guide the executive in future nominations.

    Subsequently, some senators moved to have the appointments confirmed but were swiftly resisted by others who contended that they were lopsided and could send wrong signals in the fight against corruption. Those opposed to the confirmation want all geo-political zones to be represented given our diversity and to imbue more confidence in the activities of the agency.

    But some others who wanted the nominees confirmed urged the senate to go ahead as the nominations breached no laws. According to them, it did not breach the EFCC Act which was silent on the zones from which the members should be appointed. Another senator queried why his colleagues should oppose the confirmation when the chairman of the anti-corruption committee who is from the southeast did not raise objection. The furore was so intense that the lawmakers had to go into a closed-door session where they resolved the confirmation be suspended for more legislative input.

    That is the right thing to do. There is no doubt the nominations were very insensitive to the diversity of the country and the imperative to reflect the federal character principle in such appointments. Of the four nominees, three are from the three different geo-political zones in the north while the three zones in the south had only one nominee representing the southwest. The acting chairman of the EFCC Ibrahim Magu is from the northeast while the secretary, Olanipekun  Olukoyede is from the southwest. That gives northeast and southwest two members each without any from the south-south and south-east.

    In all, the north has four representatives while the south has two. That completely shunts out both the southeast and the south-south from the critical agency. Yet, some people failed to see anything wrong with the composition and had the temerity to bandy competence and qualification as if these were the exclusive preserve of the zones most favoured. Senator Ahmed Lawan even argued very ridiculously that the appointments breached no law and that the relevant act was silent on the zones from which the members should be appointed.

    And if one may ask, when has it become a rule that all acts must stipulate in specific terms the zones members of commissions should be appointed from even when the constitution unambiguously guaranteed the federal character principle. Even if there is no constitutional provision for ensuring balance in such appointments, does natural justice not demand they reflect and capture the various tendencies in the country for it to command wider acceptability?. And why was an appointment reflective of the three tendencies in the north suddenly blind when it concerned the south?

    Lawan was very insincere in attempting to fault those opposed to the lopsided nominations. He could as well have the six nominees come from any one of the zones in the north or even the south. That is how ridiculous and self-serving that argument can be stretched. The point is that there is everything wrong in President Buhari’s nominations that excluded two key zones in a six-member commission. The Act that provided for a six-member commission must have envisaged that the six zones in the country would have their interests reflected. Even if the Act had made provision for five members, the minimum expectation is for the interests of the greatest number of the constituents to be satisfied. That goes without saying.

    The exclusion of the two geo-political zones especially the southeast is not entirely surprising. It strikes an uncanny chord with the body language of this government in the appointment of representatives of the southeast to public offices. Former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA Olisa Agbakoba had cause to challenge the federal government in court for non-inclusion of the south-east in appointments to the board of the NNPC. This exclusion is also evident in the appointment of service chiefs and personal aides of the president. The instant case is one exclusion, too many.

    But as the elections are drawing nearer, one had thought efforts should have been on top gear to correct some of these anomalies. The skewed nature of the EFCC board nominees does not seem to bear this optimism out. I think the right thing is for the senate to reject the nominations until they are reflective of the federal character principle.

    This is not the first time the senate will be rejecting nominations from the president into the board of the commission. At least on two different occasions, it rejected confirmation of the appointment of Magu. That Magu has been operating in an acting capacity for some years now, is because of the refusal by the senate to confirm his nomination based on some damaging allegations against him by the DSS.

    It is an uncanny coincidence that the president’s nominations to the board of the same commission have again hit the rocks. But the current controversy could have been avoided had those at the helm of affairs done the needful. It is not yet late. But, it would appear there is a cabal in the presidency that constantly creates problem for their boss each time appointments are to be made. Or is that what the wife of the president, Aisha Buhari referred to when she alluded to two unnamed very powerful aides whose actions or inactions contribute to slow pace of performance and the president’s negative perception in some quarters.

    Even at that, the buck still stops at the table of the president who appointed them. It is his duty to rein them in or show them the way out if he feels their actions are no longer in tandem with the aspirations of his government. And what is there to lose by simply ensuring geo-political spread is maintained in a six member board that can go round the six zones of the country?

    Issues of this nature constantly expose the fault-lines of our federal order and account for raging agitations for restructuring to whittle down the overbearing influence of the central authority on constituents. In them, can also be located the increasing slide to fission, self-determination and separatism that put enormous stress on the government with heavy toll on scarce resources direly needed for rapid development. They increasing expose the inherent dangers in entrusting awesome powers in the hands of a supposedly benevolent leader who is expected to be fair to all.

    More fundamentally, the EFCC is a very strategic and crucial agency of the government. The nature of its mandate instructs that it should at all times, command the confidence of the disparate groups and interests that make up this country. That is the only way to obviate allegations of bias either of political or sectional hue that often trail its activities. And there have been many of that in recent times.

  • PDP kicks as EFCC holds Okupe over ONSA funds

    THERE were indications last night that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may apply for court order to detain Dr. Doyin Okupe, a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, for two weeks.

    But there was pressure last night on the commission to allow Okupe to continue to enjoy administrative bail, which was granted him since June 22, 2016.

    Okupe is being investigated by the EFCC for alleged N162 million illicit payments to him and his companies by a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) and Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State.

    According to findings, Okupe personally reported to the anti-graft agency on Monday for interrogation after a botched attempt to arrest him last Saturday.

    It was learnt that the ex-presidential spokesman has been undergoing interrogation on his outstanding case in preparation for his formal arraignment in court.

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have detained Okupe in line with his pending case with EFCC. In fairness, Okupe placed a call to the commission on Monday and personally reported for interrogation.

    “We have treated him with courtesy. But the EFCC may apply for a court order to detain him within a reasonable period of about two weeks before arraigning him in court. If he is able to complete the ongoing round of quizzing, he might be free before Friday.

    “What we are trying to do is to detain him for interaction within the limits permitted by the law and in line with the protection of his fundamental human rights.”

    The allegations against Okupe include: collection of illicit payments  from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki; payment of N50 million to Okupe by ONSA without record or accountability; payment of N35.5million  Abraham Telecoms Limited linked to Okupe by ONSA through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and that one of his companies, Romic Soil Fix International Limited, received N76.5m (in tranches of N63 million and N13.5 million from Chanchaga Local Government council of Niger State for unknown reasons.

    But Okupe said the funds collected from ONSA followed a presidential directive by Jonathan.

    He had said: “The initial N50 million was approved by the President to be paid to me from his security vote. N10 million was to furnish my rented living apartment and another N10 million for my office. The balance N30 million was approved as take-off grant.

    “The N10m I received from the ONSA monthly was to run my office, pay salaries of staffs, including overheads, pay expenses for our numerous press conferences, pay for publications in newspapers, magazines, local and foreign, television programmes, bulletins and media consultants, who assist and facilitate our work. I had about 23 staff, 11 were graduates out of which five were masters’ degrees holders.

    “The second N50 million was approved again by Mr. President when I reported to him that the monthly allowance had been cut from N10 million to N5 million and that I was no longer in a position to keep running a one hour NTA network programme called INSIGHT, which was aired 9-10am every Friday.

    “We paid NTA about N1.2 million monthly for airtime. Two presenters were paid N600, 000 monthly.”

    PDP accuses EFCC of witch-hunt

    THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of with-hunt in the arrest and detention of one of its chieftains, Dr. Doyin Okupe.

    The party demanded the immediate release of Okupe, who is being detained by the EFCC a few days after operatives of the commission visited his Lagos residence.

    A statement yesterday by the PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, described Dr. Okupe’s arrest and detention as an act of intimidation and harassment by the Buhari administration.

    It accused the administration of attempts to browbeat the opposition and dissenting voices ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The statement said: “This arrest is part of the grand plot to escalate the clampdown on opposition leaders, in the attempt to cow and subjugate them as the elections draw nearer, a scheme the PDP had since alerted the nation about.

    “The PDP invites Nigerians to note that the EFCC was unleashed on Dr. Okupe with fabricated charges, just because of his criticisms of the misrule of the Buhari administration, particularly, his last Wednesday’s demand on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare President Buhari as not validly nominated as a presidential candidate for the 2019 elections.

    “Since this comment, Dr. Okupe has been threatened, harassed and his home raided by officials of the EFCC last Saturday over claims of cyber stalking, which they could not substantiate, only for the commission to arrest and detain him on Monday.

    “It is indeed unfortunate that the EFCC, under President Buhari, has been turned to a militant wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hound, intimidate, harass and even extort money from opposition leaders and other Nigerians perceived to be opposed to Mr. President’s ill-fated re-election bid.”

    The PDP challenged the President to demonstrate his much-touted integrity by allowing an open investigation of his associates and close relatives, who were mentioned in alleged looting of public resources.

     

  • Police hand over three suspected fraudsters to EFCC

    The police in Osun State have arrested and handed over three suspected fraudsters to the Ibadan office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The suspects, Kolade Samuel Sogo, 22, Oluwagbemiga Ibikunle, 27 and Ebenezer Olawafemi Adeniyi, 29, who were said to be notorious and responsible for many fraudulent acts in Ilesa and its environs, have been transferred to the EFCC office for further investigation.

    The Nation learnt that the operatives of the Osun State’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector-General of Police arrested the suspects on December 4 in Ilesa.

    Investigation showed that a Superintendent of Police, Bisiriyu Akindele, who heads the IRT in Osun State, led the team to arrest the suspects at their hideout in Ilesa, where they allegedly recovered fetish materials in a calabash, phones and laptops.

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    Efforts to speak with the officer in charge of the IRT in Osun State were unsuccessful, as his phone was switched off.