Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed October 16 to rule on whether the Managing Director of SunTrust Bank, Halima Buba, can cross-examine a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on issues raised during his evidence-in-chief.
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The judge adjourned the trial on Monday following an objection raised by EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, against a question directed to the witness by Johnson Usman, SAN, who appeared for Buba in the money laundering case filed against her by the anti-graft agency.
Usman, while cross-examining Suleiman Ciroma, owner of Funnacle BDC Ltd and the first prosecution witness (PW1), had asked him to confirm to the court the names of those who collected the money in U.S. dollars from Mrs. Aisha Achimugu, Managing Director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd.
Earlier, Usman asked Ciroma to confirm that Mr. Hassan Dantani is the MD/CEO of Ashrap Energy Oil Ltd, and the witness answered in the affirmative.
“Confirm that Trimisi Mohammed Usman, whom you referred to earlier in your evidence-in-chief, is the director of Triple A and D Nig. Ltd,” Usman asked. Ciroma answered in the affirmative and also confirmed that Trimisi is the director of Triple A and D BDC Ltd.
“Confirm that Hassan Dantani of Ashrap BDC and Trimisi Mohammed Usman of Triple A and D BDC were those who collected the money (in USD) in this transaction from Aisha Achimugu,” Usman asked, prompting Oyedepo to object.
The EFCC counsel argued that the facts before the court, as contained in the charge, substantially bordered on cash transaction allegations, and submitted that the question was irrelevant and not connected to the facts in issue.
“My lord, there are two separate legal entities involved. They are Ashrap Energy Oil Services Ltd, which is contained in the charge before your lordship, and Ashrap BDC, now being introduced by the defence,” Oyedepo said.
He maintained that although the name “Ashrap” appears in both entities, they are different companies.
“The prosecution’s case, as contained in the charge, relates only to transactions conducted by Ashrap Energy Oil Services Ltd. The core issue for determination is that those transactions, which exceeded the legal threshold, were conducted without going through financial institutions.
“I refer your lordship to Sections 21(a), 2(1), and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act. The law defines financial institutions to include not only commercial banks but also licensed BDCs regarded as authorised dealers,” Oyedepo stated.
He further argued that Usman’s attempt to cross-examine the witness on the issue was meant to mislead the court and introduce a fact not in dispute between the parties.
But Usman vehemently disagreed, stating that “the defendants, having pleaded not guilty, have shifted the burden of proof to the prosecution. They have denied liability 100 percent.”
Citing Sections 223 and 215(2) of the Evidence Act, Usman said cross-examination need not be confined to issues covered in the evidence-in-chief.
He noted that while giving evidence-in-chief, Ciroma mentioned that Dantani and Trimisi collected the money from Mrs. Achimugu.
“He said Dantani of Ashrap and Trimisi collected the USD and credited her account with the naira equivalent,” Usman said, adding that he was surprised Oyedepo did not object earlier when he questioned the witness about Dantani and Trimisi.
“Having regard to this, I humbly urge my lord to discountenance this objection. It is an attempt to prevent the defendants from defending themselves. I urge your lordship to direct the witness to answer my question,” Usman added.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter till October 16 and 17 for ruling and continuation of trial.
Buba and Innocent Mbagwu, the Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank, are being prosecuted for alleged money laundering offences to the tune of $12 million.
In the six-count charge, they were accused of aiding high-value cash transactions without routing them through a financial institution, contrary to Sections 21(a), 2(1), and 9(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.
The defendants, who were arraigned on June 13, pleaded not guilty and were each granted ₦100 million bail with one surety in like sum.
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