Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent forfeiture of $7 million stashed in a Providus Bank vault in Ikoyi, Lagos, to the federal government.
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice Emeka Nwite issued the ruling on Monday after hearing a final forfeiture application filed by Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency said the money, initially linked to the managing director of an oil and gas firm owned by a well-known businesswoman currently on trial, was concealed in suspicious circumstances.
EFCC noted that the court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on August 27. During proceedings last week, lawyer Gbenga Akande appeared for an unnamed interested party but refused to reveal his client’s identity, despite repeated demands from both the prosecution and the court.
When the matter resumed on Monday, Akande was absent, though another lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, appeared but did not oppose the EFCC’s application.
Oyedapo told the court, “The party showing interest at the last adjourned date was represented by Gbenga Femi Akande, Esq.”
Justice Nwite, noting the absence of a credible challenge, upheld the EFCC’s request and declared the funds forfeited to the federal government.
In his affidavit, EFCC investigator Emmanuel Okeibunor said the agency received intelligence that $7 million had been moved under questionable circumstances and hidden in the bank’s vault.
He added that investigations showed the money was not credited to any known customer account but kept secretly for the benefit of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited.
Okeibunor said when questioned, the company’s managing director denied depositing the funds but claimed she had taken a $7 million loan from Providus Bank which remains unpaid.
He noted further that Providus Bank failed to file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), despite the questionable nature of the transaction.
According to the EFCC, the funds are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity as no legitimate source of income was established, and no individual or institution has come forward to claim ownership.
