Alleged $12m Fraud: Court slates June 4 for arraignment of SunTrust Bank’s Chiefs
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed June 4 for the arraignment of Halima Buba, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SunTrust Bank Ltd, over alleged money laundering amounting to $12 million. Buba will be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer, before […]
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed June 4 for the arraignment of Halima Buba, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SunTrust Bank Ltd, over alleged money laundering amounting to $12 million.
Buba will be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer, before Justice Emeka Nwite.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that though the defendants were scheduled to take their plea on Tuesday, the planned arraignment could not proceed due to the absence of the duo in court.
The EFCC is prosecuting the two top bank’s executives for alleged conspiracy and aiding cash payments to different persons involving millions of dollars beyond the prescribed threshold without passing through a financial institution contrary to Section 21(a), 2(1), and 9(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.
When the matter was called, prosecution counsel Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment, but the defendants were not in court.
He said the anti-graft agency had been unable to effect service of the charges on the defendants
The lawyer, therefore, sought an adjournment, subject to the court’s convenience to June 4 for arraignment.
Responding, counsel to the defendants, Johnson Usman, SAN, told the court that his clients were not properly served and only learned of the arraignment via social media.