Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Monday presented before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja its 9th witness who happened to be a staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN over the allegations of money laundering and embezzlement of four billion naira from the coffers of Anambra State Government by the immediate past Governor, Willie Obiano, to which the 9th witness claimed that the 3 out of the 23 companies the EFCC alleged Obiano used to commit the fraud were not licensed by the CBN, adding that the three companies had since be delisted as one of the financial operators in the country, this also followed the testimonies of the third and fourth witnesses presented by the EFCC last year that alleged they were bringing physical cash in millions to the embattled former governor.

Details of the report as presented by the Public Relations Unit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC reads below:

Alleged ₦4 billion Fraud: Obiano Used Unlicensed Companies for Fraud-Witness

The trial of Willie Obiano, former governor of Anambra State, continued on Monday, February 24, 2025 before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC presenting its 9th witness.

Obiano is facing prosecution by the EFCC on nine-count charges of embezzlement and money laundering to the tune of N4 billion.

At Monday`s proceedings, the EFCC called Prosecution Witness 9, PW9, Andrew Ali, a staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and Head of the License office who revealed that three companies out of the 23 company accounts connected with the alleged ₦4 billion fraud were not duly licensed with the CBN to carry out bureau de change business.

Ali, while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Slyvanus Tahir, SAN, disclosed that Connaught International service, SY Panda Enterprise and Zirga Zirga Trading company were not licensed to carry out BDC business, adding that Zirga has been delisted from the CBN license list before 2014.

“Sometimes around April 2023, we receive two letters from the EFCC regarding some 23 financial institutions to know if they were licensed or not, I recall forwarding the two letters to the desk officer, who upon review, said we have received such letters in the past before so we comprehensively replied the EFCC in a letter dated May 21, 2023 and as seen in the letter of our response, out of 23 companies, three of them were not registered” he said.

The eight-page letter from the EFCC and the response were admitted in evidence and marked as exhibit A1-A8.

While being cross -examined by defence counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, Ali recalled that Zirga Zirga trading company did not meet the licensing requirements before 2014.

“Once you do not meet the requirements, you are delisted. It is in public knowledge that we only supervise the people that are licensed, once you are not on our list, we lose the power to supervise you. We run public notice to sensitise the public not to operate with unlicensed companies which is also on our website.

He stated further that, “it is stated clearly in section 15 and 19 of the CBN Revised
Operational Guidelines 2015. Our work is to regulate, and supervise them. Once you do not meet the requirement of renewable licensing, you will be delisted and we publish it on our valedictory list which is on our website. BDCs also have operational accounts which they do business with, they are not allowed to do business without those accounts.” he revealed.

Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter to February 26, 2025 for continuation of trial.

How We Supplied Obiano Cash from State’s Security Votes- Witnesses

The trial of Willie Obiano, former governor of Anambra State, continued on June 26, 2024 before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja with two prosecution witnesses disclosing how they supplied Obiano cash in both naira and dollars through his proxies.

Ugochukwu Chinedu, Prosecution Witness, PW3, and a former banker between November 2, 2008 to March 26, 2023, who was the account manager of the Anambra State Government accounts, including the state’s Security Vote account, told the court that he usually delivered raw cash in both Naira and US dollars to Obiano in line with the instructions given to him by Willie Nwokoye and Theophilus Meize, Obiano’s former principal secretary and accountant at the state Government’s House, respectively, who were signatories to the Security Votes account.

“I usually processed transactions with the principal secretary, either daily or weekly, mostly using the instruments of cheques. I will go to his office on Fridays to balance the account. All the transactions I carried out were usually based on the instructions given to him by the account holders,” he said.

Further in his testimony, the PW3 stated that “sometimes around July 2021, I was called by the compliance officer that they received an invitation from EFCC regarding an ongoing investigation into the administration of the Anambra State Government Security Votes’ account.

In the course of the investigation, I was asked to provide details into some other accounts that I managed which included Udo Ventures Limited, Moment of Peace Limited, Easy Diamond Integrated Links Limited, C I Patty Ventures Nigeria Limited, Xpressive Consult Nigeria Limited, among others.”

Documents relating to those accounts were marked PW3 A1 to A215, tendered and admitted in evidence.

In the same vein, Hayatu Hassan, a businessman and Prosecution Witness 4, (PW4), who operates five Bureau de Change companies, namely: Seltris BDC Limited, Seltris Limited, Connaught International Services Limited, Holdall Limited, and Norricelea Limited disclosed that he made a total sum of ₦222,371,000, Two Hundred and Twenty-two Million, Three Hundred and Seventy-one Thousand available in dollar equivalent to the Government of Anambra State under Obiano.

“Sometimes last year, I was invited by the EFCC Abuja Office and I was asked if I had any business with the Anambra State Government and I said No.

Then, the person interviewing me showed me that my company Connaught International Services Limited has done some transactions with the state government.

He showed me some payments in seven transactions that were done in my Connaught account. Two different transactions were in February 2018, about ₦172, 371,000, One Hundred and Seventy-two Million, Three Hundred and Seventy-one Naira and it was for $465,000, Four Hundred and Sixty-five Thousand US Dollars.

The other one was in March 2018 for ₦50 million and it was for $135,000, One Hundred and Thirty-five US Dollars, making a total of $600,000, Six Hundred Thousand US Dollars and naira equivalent of ₦222, 371,000.

“I sold the dollars to Ayuba Tanko, another BDC operator. As soon as the transaction was done, I handed over the dollars to Ayuba Tanko. I didn’t know it was from the Anambra State Government,” he said.