Metro
8yrs after, EFCC again drags Indian to court for N32bn bank fraud
The EFCC on Tuesday re-arraigned an Indian businessman, Patrick Fernandez, at the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly perpetrating a banking fraud involvingN32 billion.
Fernandez, along with three of his companies, is facing 56 count-charges of fraud.
He pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
He was re-arraigned because the judge previously handling the case, Justice John Tsoho, was transferred to Abuja.
A new judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun-Ishola, who was transferred from Asaba to Lagos, has taken over the case, which will start de novo (afresh) before her.
She will be the third judge to handle the case which began eight years ago.
Fernandez was first arraigned before Justice A. R. Mohammed in 2008, but following the judge’s transfer, the case was re-assigned to Justice Tsoho.
One witness testified before Justice Mohammed; three testified before Justice Tsoho.
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Justice Olatoregun-Ishola vowed to ensure the case is not further delayed when it begins anew.
“Counsel should not come and tell me that he has not had breakfast, therefore the matter should not go on,” she warned.
She said parties should be ready to comply with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 which provides for day-to-day trial.
Fernandez, previously represented by the late minister James Ocholi (SAN), has hired a new SAN, Solo Aguma.
An EFCC operative, Bashir Abdullahi, said the Commission learned of the fraud when a bank contacted the agency’s Financial Intelligence Unit.
Testifying before Justice Tsoho, the witness said in July 2008, he was assigned to investigate the case of suspicious financial activities involving Fernandez and his companies.
The affected banks, he said, were Zenith Bank, Afribank, Intercontinental Bank, Union Bank and Wema Bank.
According to him, his investigations revealed high volume transaction from one account to another, all of which he said were fraudulent.
Justice Olatoregun-Ishola has adjourned the matter to May 13, 2016 for further hearing.
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