The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the forfeiture of $1,426,175.14 domiciled in Titan Trust Bank linked to fraud involving the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele.
Justice Ayokunle Faji, in his judgment, ruled that the $1.4 million constitutes proceeds from unlawful activities and should be forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria.
The judge noted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had sufficiently proven the illegality of these funds.
The EFCC, represented by counsel Bilkisu Bahri-Bala, informed the judge that the $1.4 million was held in an account belonging to Donatone Limited, which is domiciled in Titan Trust Bank under account number 2000000500.
The funds were established to be the proceeds of unlawful activities.
David Jayeoba, an investigating officer for the EFCC, stated in an affidavit that the commission received intelligence reports that led to the forfeiture proceedings.
He explained, “During my investigation, the commission obtained credible and direct intelligence that allowed us to trace funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities stored in the Donatone Limited account at Titan Trust Bank.
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“While investigating the significant fraud perpetrated by the former Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and his associates, we discovered a substantial amount of money concealed in the account of Donatone Limited.
“The investigation indicated that some individuals behind the fraudulent concealment of these funds are Uzeobo Anthony and Adebanjo Olurotimi, directors of Donatone Limited.
These directors were allegedly engaged by Emefiele to hide, retain, and disguise funds that stem from unlawful activities.
“Between 2021 and 2022, when accessing foreign exchange (Forex) in Nigeria proved challenging, numerous international entities operating in Nigeria had to resort to various means to acquire Forex. Emefiele reportedly used his associates to solicit bribes and gratifications from several entities to secure approvals for accessing Forex.
“One of these entities, referred to as NP, deposited a total of $26,552,000.00 into the Donatone Limited account at Titan Trust Bank, account number 200000.”
On May 30, 2024, Justice Faji had ordered the interim forfeiture of the identified unlawful funds.
