A top Nigerian bank, Diamond Bank, has been indicted in an ongoing court fraud trial involving the sum of N350 million allegedly belonging to former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
A limited liability company, AM-PM Global Network Limited, was alleged to have been used to receive the sum of N1,206,950,000 into its Diamond Bank Account number 0026718889 being proceeds of unlawful enrichment derived by Mrs. Dame Patience Jonathan who was then Permanent Secretary appointed by the Bayelsa State Government.
Based on the foregoing, a federal high court sitting in Lagos, South West Nigeria had reportedly ordered temporary forfeiture of the N350 million found in the said Diamond Bank belonging to the company having beein found to be proceeds of unlawful enrichment derived by Mrs. Jonathan.
The order of the court was as a result of an ex -parte application filed and argued before the court by EFCC legal officer Mr Rotimi Oyedepo. Iseoluwa.
According to an affidavit in support of the application sworn to by the EFCC investigating officer, Musbahu Yahaya, the deponent averred that he was one of the investigating officers assigned to investigate the damning intelligence report received by the commission against AM-PM Global Company said to be in possession of proceeds of unlawful act, and retain same in its account attached.
In a bid to dissipate the funds, according to the report, the company opened another account number 0016971559 with Stanbic IBTC and out of the alleged proceeds of unlawful enrichment of Mrs. Dame Patience Jonathan, the company transferred the total sum of N350 million from its account in Diamond Bank to the account in Stanbic IBTC PLC in a desperate bid to disperse the funds.
Consequently, the court was urged to issue an order freezing or attaching the account number 0016971559 of the company domiciled in Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.
In his ruling, the Presiding Judge, Hadizat Shagari, ordered the manager of Stanbic IBTC to in the interim, attach the funds in the said account pending the determination of the investigation and possible prosecution of this case.
-Niyi Serekode
