How EFCC is battling white-collar crimes

Emeka Ibemere

White-collar crime refers to financially motivated nonviolent crime committed by business and government professionals.

It was first defined by sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation”.

A typical white-collar crime includes fraud, bribery, insider trading, embezzlement, cyber-crime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery. It also includes property crime, economic crime, and other corporate crimes, like environmental and health and safety law violations. Some crime is only possible because of the identity of the offender.

Experts said trans-national money laundering requires the participation of senior officers employed in banks.

There are different types of while collar crimes.

There is occupational crime, which occurs when crimes are committed to promote personal interests, example, by altering records and overcharging, or by the cheating of clients by professionals.

Also, there is an organizational or corporate crime, which occurs when corporate executives commit criminal acts to benefit their company by overcharging or price fixing, false advertising, lying, cheating, and stealing. It’s based on this grounds that the Act of the EFCC, mandates the Commission to combat financial and economic crimes. The Commission is empowered to prevent, investigate, prosecute and penalise economic and financial crimes.

It is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of other laws and regulations relating to economic and financial crimes, including: Economic and Financial Crimes commission Establishment act (2004), The Money Laundering Act 1995, The Money Laundering (Prohibition) act 2004, The Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 1995, The Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Act 1994. Others are The Banks and other Financial Institutions Act 1991; and Miscellaneous Offences Act.

Since its inception the anti-graft agency has continued to battle white- collar crimes but the crime like an albatross seems to be fighting back. On daily basis, the organization arrests alleged white-collar criminals take them to court and prosecute.

But one area still not clear is whether the victims of white collar crimes do recover their properties and money duped them. In the last one week, it has been one arrest or the other arraignment       s by the EFCC.

 In most cases, the court gives long adjournment date, cases delayed and the case is forgotten, while the victims of the crime go home without recovering their properties.  

On May 5, 201, the EFCC arraigned one Enekwechi Raymond Onyimba before the Chief Judge of Enugu State High Court, Justice I. A. Uwazulike on a 2- count charge of criminal diversion of fund and obtaining money by false pretence.

Onyimba is alleged to have sold a land at plot 622, Trans-Ekulu, New GRA, Enugu to Enyinnaya Igwe but fraudulently withheld the certificate of occupancy (C of O) to the property valued at N30million and used the said C of O as collateral to secure a loan for his company, Ojaz Nigeria Limited.

The complainant alleged that he bought the said property from the accused via an irrevocable power of Attorney dated 12th December, 2000 and registered as no 77/77 in volume 1473 at Land Registry in Enugu, in August, 2005.

When the charges were read in court, the accused person pleaded not guilty.

Count two of  the charge reads: “Enekwechi Raymond Onyimba on or about the 29th August 2006 in Enugu, Enugu State, within the jurisdiction of the Enugu State High Court of Nigeria with intent to defraud, induced Diamond Bank Plc to grant a loan of (N3,400,000.00) Three million, four hundred thousand naira  to your company (Ojaz Nigeria Limited), when you falsely represented to the said Diamond Bank Plc that you are the beneficial owner of Plot 622 Trans-Ekulu, New GRA Enugu which you offered as collateral for the said loan, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence”.

The Court granted the accused person bail in the sum of N1million and one surety in like sum.

The case was adjourned till June 24 and 30, 2014 for the continuation of hearing.

Again the EFCC, on Monday May 5, 2014 arraigned one Lebechi Chinedu before Justice B.O Quadri of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on a 2-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.

The accused allegedly collected N10, 500, 000 (Ten Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) from one Samuel Johnson in a phony contract deal.  The alleged sum was a contract fee for the construction of a block of six classrooms at Etche Local Government Council of Rivers State.

According to Samuel, the accused posed as Supervisor for Works in the council and claimed he could facilitate the award of the purported contract which later turned out to be a scam.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.

In view of his plea, the defence counsel, J. C Okowafor, in an oral application, urged the court to admit his client to bail. The judge however ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody till May 16, 2014 for hearing of his bail application.

Count one of the charge reads, “that you Lebechi Chinedu alias John Njoku and others now at large between March 2013 and March 2014 at Port Harcourt within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with intent to defraud, obtained the total sum of N10,500,000 (Ten Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) from one Samuel Johnson under the pretence that the money was a fee for the award of a contract for the construction of a six classroom block at Etche Local Government Council of Rivers State, a pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1 (1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and Punishable Under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.

In another development, former Oyo State Head of Service, Mrs Kudirat Iyabo Adeleke and eleven other suspects implicated in a N5.6Billion pension fraud, have been re-arraigned by the EFCC, before Justice Adegboye Gbolagunte of Oyo State High Court,  Ibadan  on charges bordering on conspiracy, stealing and criminal breach of trust.

 The other persons who were re- arraigned alongside Adeleke,  are Muili Hakeem Aderemi, former executive secretary, Oyo State Pension Board; Adeduntan Johnson; Oguntayo Banjo, former internal auditor, Oyo State Pension Board, and Kareem Rasheed.
 Others are: Muili Adedamola; Adesina Jimoh Ayoade, former cashier, Oyo State Pension Board; Adebiyi Olasumbo Musendia, former administration officer, Oyo State Pension Board, Johnson Bosede; Iyabo Giwa, former cashier, Oyo State Pension Board, Adewale Kehinde and Olujinmi Adebayo.
 The accused persons are alleged to have stolen the sum of N5.6 billion meant for the payment of pension and gratuities to various categories of retired teachers in Oyo state.
Count one of the charge reads:
 "Muili Hakeem, Iyabo Giwa, Adesina  Ayoade, Oguntayo Banjo, Adebiyi Musendiq Olasunbo, Adeleke Kudirat Iyabo, Muili Adedamola, Adeduntan Johnson, Johnson Bosede, Kareem Rasheed, Olujimi Adebayo and Adewale Kehinde on or about the 29th day of September, 2010 at Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain money by false pretence from Oyo State Local Government Staff Pension Board account number 145430000040401 at FinBank Plc (now FCMB Plc Account number 300564854)"
Count two reads: “Muili Hakeem, Iyabo Giwa, Adesina  Ayoade, Oguntayo Banjo, Adebiyi Musendiq Olasunbo, Adeleke Kudirat Iyabo, Muili Adedamola, Adeduntan Johnson, Johnson Bosede, Kareem Rasheed, Olujimi Adebayo and Adewale Kehinde on or about the 29th day of September, 2010 at Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N8,975,000.00 ( Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand Naira) from Oyo State Local Government Staff Pension Board account number 145430000040401 at FinBank Plc (now FCMB Plc Account number 300564854) on false representation made to FinBank Plc that the money was the gratuity of a pensioner named Kareem R.W".
 The accused persons were first arraigned on November 7, 2013 before Justice Bolaji Yusuf. The elevation of the trial judge to the Court of Appeal meant the trial of the accused persons had to commence ‘de novo’. 
All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.
 Prosecuting counsel, Gbolahan Latona, informed the court that he was ready for trial and sought a date for further hearing. He prayed the court to remand all the accused persons in prison custody.
 Justice Gbolagunte adjourned the case to May 30, 2014 for hearing of bail applications of all the accused persons and ordered that they be remanded in Agodi prison, Ibadan.

 Meanwhile, Justice Lawal Akapo of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja on Friday, May 2, 2014 told a former managing director of defunct Intercontinental Bank, now Access Bank, Mr. Erastus Akingbola and his associate, Mr Bayo Dada, that they have a case to answer and dismissed two separate applications filed by the defendants, seeking to quash the N47.1 billion theft charge preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for lack of merit

 In his ruling, Justice Akapo said the duo were charged with stealing, obtaining money by false pretences and receiving stolen property ,which clearly distinguished their case from that of Okey Nwosu, which they alluded to in their defence. The charge against Nwosu, according to the judge, had its roots in capital market transactions.
He noted that the failure of the defendants to produce the charge preferred against Akingbola at the Federal High Court robbed the court of the opportunity of comparing both charges to determine if the new charge was an abuse of court process.

Besides, the judge pointed out that the Lagos State High Court had jurisdiction to try offences charged under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act. “The offences as charged are within the purview and competence of the state high court. In the result, I find no merit in the applications and they are hereby dismissed," he said.
Akingbola and Dada had challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the 22-count charge filed against them by the EFCC. 

Lead defence counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN),   told the court that the alleged offences related to banking operations and capital market issues.
He submitted that only the Federal High Court had the jurisdiction to entertain such matters in line with Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Olanipekun relied on the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on November 21, 2013 where it upheld the argument of a former managing director of FinBank, Okey Nwosu, that the Lagos High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the charge preferred against him by the EFCC. He drew similarity between Akingbola and Nwosu’s case and submitted that Akingbola’s trial at the Lagos High Court was an abuse of court process as he was “facing a similar charge before the Federal High Court, Lagos.”
In a similar vein, Professor Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), holding brief for Dada, told the court that, the offence allegedly committed by his client related to buying and selling of shares on behalf of Intercontinental Bank and that, such offences could only be entertained by a Federal High Court.
However, EFCC counsel, Godwin Obla (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the no-case submission filed by Akingbola and Dada, stressing that the two defendants were facing trial for stealing which was different from the charges against Nwosu.

 "If you steal money, whether from Bank, Financial Institution or from an individual, the State High Court has jurisdiction. The jurisdiction is the same for the second defendant (Bayo Dada) who is charged under the Advanced Fee Fraud Act", he said.

Obla further stated that, "the charge against the accused persons is clear, and it is stealing bank money, so let's not massage it". Justice Akapo adjourned further hearing in the case till June 23, 24 and 25, 2014. It would be recalled that, Akingbola and Dada are being prosecuted by the EFCC on a 22- count charge bordering on stealing N47.1 Billion belonging to former Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank).

Also, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja on April 28, 2014, dismissed an application asking the court to vacate the warrant issued against an oil marketer, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo.
Ogunbambo is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside Habila Theck and their company, Fargo Energy Limited. Over an alleged N979.6 million fuel subsidy fraud.

In his ruling, the judge held that the application was misconceived as there were no exceptional circumstances warranting the court to vacate the bench warrant. "This is a part-heard criminal proceeding in which trials have been adjourned several times because of the absence of the first defendant and to the detriment of the second defendant (Theck)," he said.
According to trial judge, the purpose of the warrant is to ensure that Ogunbambo is brought to court for speedy conclusion of the trial.
He, consequently, dismissed the application and urged the EFCC to proceed with efforts being made to affect his arrest.

Justice Onigbanjo had issued a bench warrant on Ogunbambo on February 10, 2014 for failing to appear before the court for the continuation of his trial.
Ogunbambo counsel, Mr Raphael Oluyede had in the application urged the court to stay execution of the bench warrant pending the hearing and determination of his client's appeal against the court's order. Oluyede had also asked the court to restrain the EFCC from arresting his client.
Counsel to the EFCC, Mr Emmanuel Jackson, had urged the court to dismiss the application on the ground that it was an abuse of court process.  Justice Onigbanjo adjourned the matter till June 25, 2014 for continuation of trial.  Last week, the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, postponed the re-arraignment of a former Oyo State Head of Service, Mrs Kudirat Iyabo Adeleke and 11 others implicated in an N5.6Billion pension scam.