EFCC Arraigns Ex-Kwara Finance Commissioner for Money Laundering
The Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on January 29, 2020 arraigned the immediate past Commissioner for Finance in Kwara State, Ademola Banu before Justice Babangana Ashigar of Federal High Court, Ilorin on charges bordering on money laundering.
Banu was arraigned alongside Travel Messenger Company Limited and one Olarewaju Adeniyi on a nine-count charge.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants conspired among themselves to launder the sum of N411million belonging to the Kwara State Government.
Count one reads: “That you, Olarewaju Adeniyi, Ademola Banu and Travel Messenger Limited between January to December 2018 in Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court conspired among yourselves to commit an offence, to with: conversion of the sum of N411,000,000 (Four Hundred and Eleven Million Naira) only property of Kwara State Government, which sum you reasonably ought to know was derived from fraud, and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18(a) of the money laundering (prohibition) (amendment) Act, 2012 and punishable under section 15(3) and (4) of the same Act”.
They pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Following their plea, counsel for the EFCC, Nnaemeka Omewa asked the court for a date for trial to commence, “to enable us prove our case”.
“We also want you to remand the defendants in Correctional Facility pending the hearing and determination of this case,” he added.
Defence counsel, Gboyega Oyewole and Bamidele Ibironke however prayed Justice Ashigar to grant bail to their clients, arguing that the offences in which the defendants are standing trial are bailable.
Omewa, however, opposed the bail applications and informed the court of a counter-affidavit, in which he urged the court to dismiss the application.
Justice Ashigar, thereafter, adjourned the matter until February 10, 2020 to rule on the application, and ordered the defendants to be remanded in EFCC custody.
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Tony Orilade
Acting head, Media & Publicity
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Court Jails Ex-Banker Two Years for N2m Fraud in Enugu
The Enugu Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, January 27, 2020, secured the conviction of a former banker, Emeka Anyaegbunam, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment by Justice V. Nwoye of Enugu State High Court, Onitsha, Anambra State on one-count charge of forgery, criminal diversion of funds and obtaining money by false pretence.
Anyaegbunam, who worked with a new generation bank, was arraigned on February 1, 2018 for cashing on the gullibility of a client who asked him as his account officer to acquire a federal government treasury bill to the tune of N2, 000,000 (Two Million Naira) for him, which he never did, but rather forged signatures of some of his senior colleagues and using same to fill the Treasury Bill Certificate of the complainant, and subsequently withdrew monies from the said account.
The convict, investigation revealed, transferred the withdrawn sums from time to time to his personal accounts and that of his children.
In the course of the trial, prosecution counsel, Michael Ani called one witness and tendered several exhibits against Anyaegbunam to support his case.
Anyaegbuna’s criminal activities came to fore sometime in 2017 when one of his clients who resides overseas came to complain that he has not been getting alerts on interest accruing from his treasury bill investment but was told by the bank that the said transactions with the suspect were illegally carried out.
The bank revealed that the convict was sacked by the bank upon the enquiries by EFCC and after an interim investigation revealed his several criminal infractions against other customers.
Justice Nwoye after reviewing the evidences against
Anyaegbunam, found him guilty, convicted and sentenced him to two years imprisonment.
Tony Orilade
Acting Head, Media & Publicity
