The Abuja Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought charges against a former banker, Victor Joseph, and Ahmad Aliyu for alleged money laundering amounting to N110 million.
This was disclosed in a statement released by the EFCC on Tuesday.
The statement revealed that the defendants were accused of fraudulently transferring N110 million from the National Assembly office account between March 27 and April 11, 2023, using fictitious transfer instructions.
Further investigations uncovered that forged instructions were submitted at the UBA National Assembly Business office in Abuja for processing, and the funds were subsequently transferred to various beneficiaries across three banks.
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These funds were later traced back to Joseph, who initiated the transactions.
The EFCC stated that both defendants pleaded not guilty to the five-count charge of money laundering brought against them before Justice N.E. Maha of the Federal High Court, Maitama Abuja. Subsequently, the prosecution counsel, Joshua Saidi, requested a trial date.
The defendants’ counsel, Gbenga Ashowole and Nelem Orji, applied for bail on behalf of their clients.
Justice Maha remanded the defendants at the Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter until February 27, 2024, for the hearing of the bail applications.
In a previous report in July 2023, Saving Point Media report the arrest of a former banker, Gift Igbinosun, by the Edo State Police Command for allegedly defrauding individuals of over N14.9 million under the pretense of assisting them in obtaining new currency notes.
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