In the Ikoyi neighborhood of Lagos, a Providus Bank branch’s vault containing $7 million has been ordered to be finally forfeited by a federal high court in Abuja.
The money was discovered in the account of the MD of an oil and gas business owned by a well-known public figure who is presently facing charges from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
After a final forfeiture application filed by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, sitting judge Emeka Nwite handed the ruling on Monday.
On August 27, an interim order for the forfeiture of the amount was granted, according to the anti-graft agency.
CONTEXT
Last Friday, when the case was called, attorney Gbenga Akande said that an interested party would be attending.
Despite pressure from Oyedepo and the court, Akande would not provide his client’s name.
The presiding judge directed Oyedepo to serve Akande with copies of the documents after he filed an affidavit explaining why the EFCC lawyer should be aware of the interested party’s name. Akande informed the court that the hearing was postponed until September 15.
Akande did not appear in court when the hearing resumed on Monday.
But on behalf of an interested party, another attorney, Darlington Ozurumba, showed up in court.
Then, because no one was interested in the case, Oyedepo transferred the application for the money’s final confiscation to the federal government.
He stated that Gbenga Femi Akande, Esq., represented the party expressing interest on the most recent adjourned date.
Ozurumba was requested by the judge to provide his input on the final forfeiture application.
He was not against the application, Ozurumba stated.
Nwite subsequently declared the EFCC application to be valid and mandated the ultimate forfeiture of the money to the federal government.
THE AFFIDIAT
Investigator Emmanuel Okeibunor of the EFCC deposed the affidavit supporting the ex-parte application.
Okeibunor stated that the agency had received a reliable tip claiming that $7 million had been transferred to and held in the Providus Bank branch under questionable circumstances.
According to the investigator, the report was given to his team for analysis, and if deemed believable, further inquiry.
Investigations, according to Okeibunor, showed that the money was secretly stored in the bank’s vault rather than being credited to any known customers’ accounts.
Some bank employees examined by the investigator claimed that the managing director, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, had presented the money to the bank on his or her behalf.
In reference to the seven million dollars, Okeibunor stated, “My team spoke with the managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, who strongly denied taking any money to Providus Bank.”
My team was also notified by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited’s managing director that she borrowed $7 million from Providus Bank Limited and has not yet returned the money.
This transaction was not the subject of a suspicious transaction report (STR) submitted by Providus Bank Limited to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Given that the money sought to be forfeited did not represent the known, verifiable, and lawful income of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, the couriers, or Providus Bank Limited executives, it is reasonable to assume that it is the profits of illegal activities.
“As no one came forward to claim the funds from Providus Bank Limited or the commission that recovered the same, it is also reasonably suspected that the funds sought to be forfeited were abandoned.”
