Court Confirms Final Forfeiture of $7m Found in Providus Bank Vault

The final forfeiture of $7 million that was hidden in the vault of a Providus Bank branch in the Ikoyi neighborhood of Lagos has been ordered by a federal high court in Abuja.

The funds were discovered in the account of the managing director of an oil and gas firm owned by a well-known woman in society, who is presently facing charges from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The ruling was delivered Monday by presiding judge Emeka Nwite in response to a final forfeiture application filed by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo.

The anti-graft agency claims that on August 27, an interim order was granted for the confiscation of the money.

HISTORY

An interested party was invited to present when the matter was called last Friday by attorney Gbenga Akande.

Oyedepo and the court insisted that Akande provide his client’s name, but Akande refused.

Akande informed the court that the presiding judge directed Oyedepo to serve Akande with copies of the documents after he filed an affidavit explaining why the EFCC lawyer should be aware of the interested party’s name. The hearing was then postponed till September 15.

Akande did not appear in court on Monday when the hearing resumed.

But another attorney, Darlington Ozurumba, showed up in court on behalf of a party with an interest.

Since no party had expressed interest in the case, Oyedepo then forwarded the application for the money’s final forfeiture to the federal government.

“Gbenga Femi Akande, Esq., represented the party expressing interest at the most recent adjourned date,” he stated.

Ozurumba was invited to provide his thoughts on the final forfeiture application by the judge.

Ozurumba declared that he had no objection to the application.

Nwite later declared the EFCC application to be valid and ordered the money to be forfeited to the federal government.

THE AFFIDAVIT

Emmanuel Okeibunor, an EFCC investigator, deposed the affidavit supporting the ex-parte application.

According to Okeibunor, the agency got a reliable tip that claimed $7 million was transferred to and held in the Providus Bank branch under dubious circumstances.

According to the investigator, his team was tasked with analyzing the complaint and, if deemed believable, moving forward with the inquiry.

According to Okeibunor, the inquiry showed that the money was secretly stored in the bank’s vault rather than being credited to any known customers’ accounts.

According to the investigator, some of the bank employees who were interrogated claimed that the managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited had ordered the money to be brought to the bank.

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“In regards to the seven million dollars, my team spoke with the managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, who maintained that she did not transfer any funds to Providus Bank,” Okeibunor stated.

The managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited also told my team that she borrowed $7 million from Providus Bank Limited and has not yet returned the money.

Regarding this transaction, Providus Bank Limited failed to submit a suspicious transaction report (STR) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

Since the money sought to be forfeited did not represent known, verifiable, and lawful income of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, the couriers, or Providus Bank Limited personnel, it is reasonable to assume that it is the proceeds of illegal activities.

Since no one came forward to claim the money from Providus Bank Limited or the commission that seized it, it is likewise reasonable to assume that the funds sought to be forfeited were abandoned.