Alleged Fraud: Court orders forfeiture of $2.04m, properties, Shares linked to ex-CBN Gov. Emefiele 

Alleged Fraud: Court orders forfeiture of $2.04m, properties, Shares linked to ex-CBN Gov. Emefiele 

“The judge issued the temporary forfeiture orders on Thursday after an application was made in a suit filed and presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel“

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the interim forfeiture of a cash sum of $2.045 million linked to the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

Justice Akintayo Aluko also ordered the interim forfeiture of seven landed properties linked to the former CBN Governor.

The lands are listed as: “two fully detached duplexes of identical structures, lying being and situated at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped/bare land, measuring 1919.592sqm with Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 LYING, being and situate at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (Formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow lying, being and situate at No. 65a Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, (Formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; four bedroom duplex lying, being and situate at 12a Probyn Road, Ikoyi; Industrial complex under construction on a 22-plot of land, lying, being and situate in Agbor, Delta State; 8 units of the undetached apartment on a plot measuring 2457.60sqm OF lying, being and situate at No. 8a Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, and a full duplex together with all its appurtenances on a plot of land measuring 2217.87sqm lying, being and situate at 2a Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos”.

Justice Aluko has ordered the temporary forfeiture of 2 share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust.

The judge issued the temporary forfeiture orders on Thursday after an application was made in a suit filed and presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and was supported by Chineye Okezie and Zeenat Atiku-Bala.

In his plea to the court for the forfeiture of the assets, Oyedepo stated that the money and other items being sought to be forfeited are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

Oyedepo also mentioned that the orders being sought are in accordance with Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006, Section 44(2)(B) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

Additionally, the Senior Advocate informed the court that the motion was supported by an affidavit sworn by Idi Musa, an Investigator attached to the Lagos office of the EFCC.

Part of the deponent’s averments in the affidavit reads: “that I am one of the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission assigned to investigate the damning intelligence report received by the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission in respect of monumental fraudulent activities perpetrated by some senior officers of the Central Bank of Nigeria through which huge sums of money were fraudulently converted and transferred for personal use.

“That the Commission whilst investigating the alleged monumental fraud carried out by the immediate past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and his Cronies traced and discovered several properties reasonably suspected to have been acquired and or developed with proceeds of unlawful activities.

“That the said properties particularised in Schedules ‘A’ and ‘B’ herein, having been reasonably suspected to have been acquired/ developed with proceeds of unlawful activities are now sought to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria in the interim.

“In the cause of this investigation, it was revealed that the erstwhile CBN governor negotiates kickbacks in return for allocation of Foreign Exchange to some companies who were in desperate need of foreign exchange for their lawful and legitimate businesses.

“That Investigation has revealed that all seven companies listed above are suspected to be shell companies used by Godwin Emefiele as vehicles for money laundering and holding proceeds of his illicit activities.

“That sometime in 2018, one Olusola Bodunde acquired a parcel of land located at Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos and partnered with one Idowu Sharafa to develop three units of 5-bedroom duplexes with attached BQ on the land. And that sometime in 2020, one of his boys approached Mr Olusola Bodunde and subsequently paid the total sum of N460,000,000. 00 (Four Hundred and Sixty Million Naira) for two of the three developed duplexes, purchased in the name of Amrash Ventures Limited, all on behalf and the instructions of Godwin Emefiele.

“That the sum of Two Million, Forty-Five Thousand Dollars ($2,045,000.00) and the shares certificate, were also recovered.

“That most of the proceeds of Godwin Emefiele’s illegal activities were invested in the acquisition of various properties now sought to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. And that the properties now sought to be forfeited were not acquired with proceeds of any legitimate earnings but rather from funds reasonably suspected to have been derived from proceeds of unlawful activities.

“That from findings of our investigation, I also know as a fact and verily believe that the properties sought to be forfeited were acquired in the name of cooperating entities to conceal the unlawful origin of the funds used for their acquisition. And that the title document in respect of the properties listed in Schedule A herein was recovered by the team in the course of this investigation.

“That I know as a fact and verily believed that the funds used for the acquisition of the properties sought to be forfeited are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and not the legitimate earnings of Godwin Emefiele.

“That most of the fraudulently earned funds have been invested in the acquisition of the various properties now sought to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. And that the properties were acquired by Godwin Emefiele with sums traced and reasonably believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities to wit; kickback from allocation of Foreign exchange.

“That investigation further revealed that all these companies were used in the intermediate steps to perfect this scheme of fraud. And that it is in the interest of justice to grant this application.”

Justice Aluko granted the interim forfeiture of the money, share certificates, and the landed properties after considering Oyedepo’s submissions, the filed processes, and the legal authorities cited.