The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully obtained a final court order on Tuesday for the forfeiture of $1.4 million, which were proceeds of bribery involving Godwin Emefiele, the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor.
Previously, on May 29, 2014, the EFCC secured an interim order to temporarily seize the money. The judge has now ordered the publication of this forfeiture in newspapers, inviting anyone with a claim to the funds to appear in court and show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited.
According to EFCC lawyer Mrs. Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, the commission published the notice as required, but no one came forward to claim the funds. She stated that the money was obtained through illegal activities by Emefiele.
Investigations revealed that Emefiele received the dollars as kickbacks for approving foreign exchange allocations to multinational firms during a forex crisis in Nigeria. The court, under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-related Offences Act, has the authority to make such forfeiture orders.
This forfeiture follows another recent court order for the permanent forfeiture of properties worth N12.18 billion from Emefiele. The EFCC investigator, David Jayeoba, confirmed the findings in an affidavit.
The affidavit revealed that part of the illegal funds, now forfeited, was retained in the accounts under scrutiny. Emefiele used Uzeobo Anthony and Adebanjo Olurotimi to hide these funds, which were bribes from international companies seeking forex.
These companies paid a total of $26.55 million into an account at Titan Trust. The funds were then fixed into interest-yielding accounts, laundered through a foreign account in Mauritius, and returned to Nigeria disguised as legitimate funds.
Of the $26.55 million received by Donatus Limited, $1.4 million remained in the account. This is the amount now forfeited to the Federal Government, as it was proven to be proceeds from Emefiele’s unlawful activities.
The investigation also showed that the entities sourcing forex were pressured to pay large sums. The signatories to the account with the remaining $1.4 million are currently on the run and attempting to electronically dissipate the funds.
