A Bureau de Change (BDC) operator, Chidera Okeke, has been remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service facility in Awka, Anambra State, following his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged N446.5 million fraud.
Okeke was arraigned alongside two companies, Paderlambs Investment Limited and Ishiugbo Nigeria Limited, before Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court, Awka Division, on a three-count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining money by false pretence.
The EFCC, in a statement on Friday, said the charges involved the alleged fraud of N446,579,629.
According to the commission, the defendant allegedly obtained the money from Izuchukwu Okeke of Alphard Candy and Sons Limited between October and November 2023 in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The prosecution alleged that the money was initially paid into the account of Nwadili David Chukwuka, who trades as Ifeabata Ventures, before being transferred to the accounts of Paderlambs Investment Limited and Ishiugbo Nigeria Limited.
The EFCC further alleged that the defendant claimed to have remitted the equivalent amount in Chinese Renminbi (RMB) to the petitioner’s business partner in China, a claim the commission described as false.
One of the charges also accused the defendant of allegedly producing forged telex documents purportedly issued by JCI General Trading Pty Limited, an Australian company, with the intention that they would be used as genuine documents.
Following his plea, EFCC counsel, Michael Ikechukwu Ani, an Assistant Commander of the commission, asked the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendant in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Justice Anyadike subsequently ordered his remand and adjourned the matter to Thursday for the hearing of his bail application.
The EFCC said the arraignment followed the transfer of Okeke from the State Security Service to the commission on October 30, 2024, after a petition by Izuchukwu Okeke.
The petitioner reportedly alleged that between September and November 2023, he gave N446,579,629 to Chukwuka, another BDC operator, for onward remittance in Chinese currency to his business partner in China.
He further claimed that Chukwuka informed him that the money had been handed over to the defendant for the transaction. However, when confronted, Okeke allegedly acknowledged receiving the funds but issued a cheque that was later described as dishonoured instead of completing the remittance or refunding the money.
The allegations are before the court, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Written by Enitan Mudashiru
