During
interrogation, EFCC operatives were told the funds belonged to one of
the bank’s high-profile clients, businesswoman Aisha Achimugu.
An order has been given for the final forfeiture of $7 million
(about ₦11.2 billion at the prevailing exchange rate) to the Federal
Government..
The order was given by the Federal High Court in Lagos after the
funds were discovered to have been deposited in Providus Bank under
questionable circumstances.
According to investigations, the cash was deposited in raw currency
on March 26 and 27, 2025, directly into the bank’s vaults at its
Victoria Island headquarters rather than being credited to any
customer’s account.
An internal whistleblower working with the EFCC alerted the agency,
prompting officials to storm the bank’s headquarters unannounced. Some
staff members were subsequently taken in for questioning.
During interrogation, EFCC operatives were told the funds belonged
to one of the bank’s high-profile clients, businesswoman Aisha Achimugu,
Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Gate Petroleum, who is a businesswoman
and socialite.
Achimugu, who was later invited by the EFCC, reportedly denied
ownership of the $7 million, insisting she only took a loan of that
amount from the bank and had not repaid it.
A source privy to the investigation said, “The money was
deposited under suspicious circumstances in raw cash. Instead of paying
it into their customer’s account, the money was deposited into the
vaults of Providus Bank, which was unusual and suspicious.
“An anonymous whistleblower who works at the bank and serves as
a spy for the EFCC alerted the anti-corruption agency of the unusual
transactions that just occurred at the bank.
“Acting on that intelligence, the staff of the EFCC swooped on
the Providus headquarters, and the EFCC officials demanded the money,
leaving with some bank staff for proper interrogation."
Providus Bank also came under scrutiny for allegedly failing to
file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) with the Nigerian Financial
Intelligence Unit (NFIU), despite the nature of the transaction raising
multiple red flags.
The EFCC eventually recovered the cash and transferred it to the
Central Bank of Nigeria for safekeeping. Following a court application, a
final forfeiture order was granted on Monday, transferring ownership of
the $7 million to the Federal Government.
The ruling, delivered on Monday by Justice Emeka Nwite, followed an
application by the EFCC, which argued that the funds were suspected
proceeds of unlawful activities.
Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, counsel for the EFCC, told the court that the
commission had fulfilled all procedural requirements after securing an
interim forfeiture order on August 27.
He noted that the order was duly published, inviting any interested
parties to appear and show cause why the funds should not be
permanently forfeited.
“My lord, since August 27, when your lordship granted the
order, to date, we have not received any opposition to our application,” Oyedepo said.
“Hence, we filed a motion for final forfeiture.”
Although a lawyer, Mr. Gbenga Akande, had earlier appeared in court
claiming to represent an interested party, he refused to disclose his
client’s identity and failed to file any supporting documents, according
to Nairametrics.
At the next hearing, Akande was absent, and another lawyer,
Darlington Ozurumba, appeared but raised no objection to the EFCC’s
application.
In a separate case in July, the first prosecution witness in the
trial of the top executives of SunTrust Bank, Halima Buba and Innocent
Mbagwu, confirmed to Justice Nwite that he received the sum of $12
million in cash, allegedly facilitated by the defendants, for onward
transfer to Aisha Achimugu’s bank accounts.
The EFCC is prosecuting Buba, the Managing Director/Chief
Executive, and Mbagwu, the Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank, on
a six-count charge bordering on money laundering involving $12 million.
Testifying before the court, the First Prosecution Witness (PW1), a
bureau de change operator, told the court that between March 10 and 24,
2025, he received $12 million in cash from Aisha Achimugu.
The transactions, according to the witness, were facilitated through the Abuja and Lagos branches of SunTrust Bank.
While being led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Oyedepo (SAN), the
witness said, “None of the money went through my account,” despite
having both naira and dollar accounts with the bank.
He stated that the transactions were executed outside the formal banking process.
“It was on social media that I heard that Aisha Achimugu had been arrested and I forwarded it to the first defendant.
“I can also recall that after meeting Aisha Achimugu, she has
also given me a total of $1.8 million for conversion into naira and they
were in tranches,” the witness added.
OR
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