The trial of SunTrust Bank Managing Director, Halima Buba, and the bank’s Chief Compliance Officer, Innocent Mbagwu, has begun in Abuja. Both are accused of helping to move large sums of money in suspicious ways.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed six charges against them. The charges involve laundering $12 million through questionable foreign exchange transactions.
At the court hearing on July 17, 2025, the first witness, a bureau de change operator, told the court how millions of dollars were exchanged and transferred using help from the bank officials.
According to the witness, these transactions were linked to a woman named Aisha Achimugu. She allegedly contacted him in March 2025 and said she had foreign exchange business to do through SunTrust Bank in Abuja and Lagos. He confirmed with the bank’s MD before carrying out the deals.
On March 13, 2025, a staff member of Aisha, named Iliya, went to the bank to exchange $1 million. The money was paid into a Zenith Bank account belonging to Ocean Gate Energy Oil and Gas. The witness said he arranged this after getting confirmation from the MD.
He also said Aisha told him she needed the dollars to buy an oil block. He revealed that he had met Aisha back in 2021 through the same SunTrust MD.
To keep track of the deals, the witness said the MD often sent him confirmations through WhatsApp, even sharing screenshots of messages with the Compliance Officer. This was after the officer at first denied knowing anything about the transactions.
The witness added that on March 13, 2025, a man named Muktar Miko collected $2 million from the Compliance Officer. Another $2 million came in on March 14, and a third $2 million was received on March 20. All of these, he said, were approved by the MD.
Another $2 million was collected on March 24. After each swap, the dollars were deposited into Ocean Gate Energy’s Zenith Bank account in smaller amounts.
Aside from the oil block deal, Aisha reportedly carried out more Naira-to-dollar exchanges. The MD was said to have confirmed these transactions as well. The Naira was paid into local accounts, and the dollar equivalent was sent to Ocean Gate Energy.
The EFCC is still working to prove its case as the trial continues. More details are expected as the court proceedings move forward.
