A prosecution witness, Peter
Ademola Adegoke, a Compliance Officer with Fidelity Bank Plc, on Friday told
Justice Abdullai Liman of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos how the sum of
N18bn was paid into the account of a company, Ismalob Global Investments,
belonging to Ismaila Mustapha, also known as Mompha.
Mompha was arraigned on November
25, 2019 on a 14-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N33
billion.
Adegoke, told the judge that
evidence showed that Mompha was the sole signatory to Ismalob Global’s naira
account.
Reading from the firm’s statement
of account, Adegoke told the court that between 2015 and October 2019, there
was a total inflow of N18.5bn into the account, while a total of about N18bn
moved out within the same period.
At today’s sitting, the first
prosecution witness, PW1, Anne Nnenna Ezekannagha, a Manager in the Customers
Service Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, told the court that
Mompha’s company, Ismalob Ventures, was not registered with the CBN and that he
did not have the license to operate as a Bureau de Change operator.
Led in evidence by the
prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, Ezekannagha further told the court that
“We got a letter from the EFCC on the activities of Ismalob Global Ventures.
“However, we have no history of
the name with the CBN.”
She said for the CBN to licence a
firm as a BDC operator, such firm must show evidence of incorporation as a
limited liability company by the Corporate Affairs Commission.
She explained that all licensed
BDCs have a transaction limit of $5,000.
When the defence counsel, Gboyega
Oyewole SAN, asked her whether it was unlawful for an individual who has
foreign currency in his domiciliary account to give foreign currency to a
friend in exchange for naira, the CBN official said it would not be unlawful if
it was not a commercial transaction.
She said it becomes a commercial
transaction if it involves making profit and it would be illegal.
A Benin City-based BDC operator,
Ikenna Okafor, who testified as another prosecution witness, told the court
that he did business with Ismalob Global Investment Limited through “one of its
directors, Alhaji Ahmadu Mohammed.”
Okafor said Mohammed used to come
to his base in Benin, Edo State, to buy Euro in the name of Ismalob Global
Investment Limited.
“After negotiation with Ismalob
Global Investment Limited through Alhaji Mohammed, he usually makes payment
into my account through Ismalob,” Okafor said.
Under cross-examination by
Oyewole, Okafor said he met Mompha for the first time three days ago at the
EFCC office in Ikoyi.
The BDC operator said he was
himself detained for seven days by the EFCC before being released on an
administrative bail during the week.
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