EFCC to call six witnesses in Senator’s money laundering trial

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday said it would call six witnesses in the trial of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi for alleged money laundering. Two of the witnesses, Prince Kpokpogiri and Murtala Abubakar, testified before Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday. Prosecuting counsel Wemimo Ogunde (SAN) told the judge that the prosecution would bring the remaining four witnesses within two days. Kpokpogiri, the first witness who runs the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum, said he sent a petition to the EFCC after he received an anonymous call and some documents at his Asaba, Delta State office. Led in evidence by Ogunde, he said he was subsequently invited by the EFCC to Abuja to confirm the petition. Under cross examination by defence counsel Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), the witness said he did not investigate the allegations in the petition before forwarding it the EFCC. Idigbe accused the witness of being an EFCC agent, saying: “I put it to you that apart from the fact that you did not investigate the documents, you did not also take any step to verify the facts stated in the petition.” Kpokpogiri responded: “I only investigated by going through the documents. I did not contact the defendants because it is the work of the EFCC.” The second prosecution witness, Abubakar, who heads Nigerian Export Import (NEXIM) Bank Enterprise Risk Management unit, said the third defendant, Suiming Electricals Limited, applied for a loan in December 2013, which was approved in April 2014. He said Nwaoboshi, who was a NEXIM Bank board member, asked to be excused from the meeting where a decision to grant the loan was taken. According to him, the senator is a director at Bilderberg Enterprises Ltd, a holding company which has the majority shareholding in Suiming Electricals Nigeria. Abubakar said EFCC sent five requests to the bank regarding the loan granted Suiming Electricals, adding under cross examination that the company met all the bank’s conditions before the loan was disbursed. The witness said although the third defendant had repaid over N billion of the loan, it was still non-performing. “The loan facility is for five years. There is a difference between paying and performing. When we give a loan, we give you a payment plan. When you are supposed to be paying N1 million quarterly but you are paying ₦200,000, you are paying but you are not performing.” EFCC arraigned Nwaoboshi, Golden Touch Construction Projects Limited and Suiming Electricals for alleged N322million fraud. The prosecution alleged that Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Projects purchased a 12-storey property known as Guinea House, Marine Road, Apapa, Lagos for N805million between May and June 2014. The anti-graft agency claimed that N322million out of the N805million was part of proceeds of “an unlawful act, to wit: fraud.” The EFCC alleged that the N322million was transferred to the property’s vendor on the order of Suiming Electricals, which was accused of aiding Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Projects to commit money laundering on or about May 14, 2014. According to EFCC, Nwaoboshi, a former Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, got a contract through Bilderberg Enterprises Ltd to supply new construction equipment to the state Direct Labour Agency at N1,580,000,000. The company allegedly imported and supplied used construction equipment rather than brand new ones despite receiving full payment. EFCC said Nwaoboshi, with the proceeds, bought the 12-floor building from Delta State Government at N805million in the name of Golden Touch Construction Projects. The commission said the Senator had “no visible legitimate business venture to generate the amount spent to purchase the said property.” The defendants pleaded not guilty. Justice Idris adjourned until July 2 and 3.]]>