A Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has sentenced a forex trader, Shola Henry, to two years imprisonment for stealing twenty million naira.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, held that the cryptocurrency business was nothing but a Ponzi scheme.
“The prosecution, however, proved the charge of stealing against the defendant and he is found guilty as charged of count six.
“The defendant is hereby sentenced to two years’ imprisonment or pay a fine of two million naira. His company is also fined one million naira.
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“The defendant is hereby given one year to make restitution of twenty million naira to his victim,” the judge said.
Justice Taiwo further held that the allegation of obtaining money under false pretence was not proved by the prosecution.
She discharged and acquitted the convict on counts one to five.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had charged the defendant and his company, Henry Enterprises, with an eight amendment count charge, bordering on stealing and obtaining money under false pretences.
EFCC counsel, Mr Ahmed Yerima, called five witnesses at the trial of the defendant.
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Mr Yerima submitted that EFCC received a petition from one Mr Anyasi Matthew, who alleged that the defendant defrauded him of the sum of N20 million, on the pretext that he was going to invest the same in forex with 20 per cent profit in 30 days.
The prosecution said that the defendant stopped giving returns to the complainant after collecting the money and refused to return his capital to him as promised.
The prosecution stated that the failure of the defendant to refund the money to the owner prompted him to petition the EFCC on the alleged fraud.
