Admin l Friday, February 26, 2021
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – Emmanuel Nwude, a businessman who was convicted of defrauding a Brazilian bank of $242million has denied knowing the source of the funds. Nwude made the denial while testifying on Thursday before an Ikeja Special Offences Court.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nwude was convicted by an Ikeja High Court in 2005 for impersonating Paul Ogwuma, a governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who had served from Oct. 1, 1993 to May 29, 1999 in order to defraud a Brazilian bank.
The bank, Banco Noroeste, was defrauded of $242million between 1995 and 1998.
As at the time of the incident, it was the third largest bank fraud in history, resulting in the collapse of Banco Noroeste in 2001. Nwude was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for the fraud in 2005 by Justice Joseph Oyewole.
His conviction was the first major conviction for the then newly established Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Nwude after serving part of his jail term is, however, back in court alongside two lawyers- Emmanuel Ilechukwu and Roland Kalu.
They face a 15-count charge of forging the documents of the property Justice Oyewole had ordered Nwude to forfeit to his victims. The property is located at Plot Y. Mobolaji Johnson street, Oregun Alausa, Ikeja.
Speaking in his defence during Thursday’s proceedings, Nwude who was led in evidence by defence counsel, Mr Chuks Nwachukwu denied knowledge of the source of the funds from the $242million fake airport scam.
According to him, when he was standing trial for the $242 million scam, a member of his legal team, Dr Chris Uche (SAN) had approached him in prison and suggested that he should make a plea bargain agreement with the EFCC.
He said Uche had advised that he will make the plea bargain agreement like what was done for Amaka Anajemba (one of his co-defendants in the fake airport scam) so that he will not be solely made to repay the funds to the victims.
He said he refused Uche’s offer because the funds found in his account by the anti-graft agency were not proceeds of fraud.
“I told him that I’m not responsible for the $242million. That I’m not responsible for this money, I don’t know anything about it. The EFCC should check all the remittances that came through my accounts, though, I have my friend late Christian Anajemba’s (husband of Amaka, his codefendant) various bank accounts.
“As money came to my accounts, I gave it to one of my Indian friends, Mr Naresh Asnani, who has contact with a Swiss bank, who in turn does the exchange for me.
“When the money comes in, he (Asnani) took his commission and I’ll take my commission and I give the large sum to Christian Anajemba,” Nwude said. Nwude also accused a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Olisa Agbakoba of abandoning him two weeks after he collected N27 million out of the N30 million fee he charged him for legal representation during his trial for the $24 2million scam.
“After Mr G.O. K. Ajayi (SAN), I brought in Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) to stand for me. I have never been in court before, I never had experience of court. When I brought Agbakoba, he charged me N30million and I paid him N27million.
“Two weeks later Agbakoba asked me to bring more money and I said no because I just paid him N27million. He said he want the money to pursue an appeal. He said if I did not pay the balance he will not appear in my matter again. I told him to go to hell.
“On the next adjournment, he refused to come and I was stranded in court then EFCC introduced Mr Ricky Tarfa (SAN) to me,” Nwude said. Justice Mojisola Dada adjourned the case until May 24 for continuation of trial.
