A Federal High Court in Lagos, last week Thursday,
ordered the prison remand of a female member of staff
of Diamond Bank Plc, Eniola Morondiya, who allegedly
aided some fraudsters to process N241m said to be
proceeds of a criminal act.
Morondiya, a teller on contract employment with
Diamond Bank, was remanded along with the four
alleged fraudsters, Suleiman Mohammed, Ibrahim
Danazumi, Roland Aroko and Francis Akpabio, all males.
The remand of the five accused persons followed their
arraignment on four counts of conspiracy and money
laundering before Justice Okon Abang.
The prosecution, in the charge marked FHC/L/170c/15,
alleged that the plot to move the N241m proceeds of
criminal act, using Morondiya, was hatched during a
meeting of the accused persons with some persons still
at large on February 1, 2015.
Members of the fraud syndicate were said to have met
at Protea Hotel in Maryland, Lagos where they
conspired among themselves to, with the assistance of
Morondiya, move the N241m into various bank accounts
in order to conceal the illicit origin of the huge sum.
Morondiya, who worked at the Jibowu, Yaba branch of
Diamond Bank, was alleged to have been paid N3m by
one Solomon Ikeije, being her promised share of the
N241m made from an alleged illegal deal.
She allegedly received the money on February 3, 2015
and retained same in her own bank account after
helping the fraud syndicate to post the N241m on
February 2, 2015.
The prosecutor, E.K. Ugwu, further alleged that the fifth
defendant, Akpabio, received and concealed N27m of
the N241m in the Diamond Bank account of his
company, Edokori Oil Ventures.
Akpabio was accused of transferring N7m out of the
N27m he received into a certain account number with
Ecobank and thereafter transferred another N2.1m into a
separate account before withdrawing N3m for himself at
the Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos branch of Diamond Bank
on February 2, 2015.
According to the prosecution, as of the time of
investigation, N15m was discovered in Akpabio's
Diamond Bank account.
The five accused persons were charged for allegedly
violating Section 15(2) (3), 17 and 18(a) of the Money
Laundering (prohibition) Act, 2012.
They however pleaded not guilty to the charges,
following which the prosecutor moved the court to
remand them in prison custody.
Punch
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