..Suspects risk prolonged jail terms if convicted
Source- Vanguard
Five years after the Federal Government lost a whopping $1.6 billion to some of its influential citizens through the sale and revocation of a controversial oil block, known as OPL 245, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, filed charges against the high profiled suspects.
The suspects, according to papers filed by the EFCC before a Federal High Court in Abuja, connived with others to defraud the federal government by diverting the huge sums to themselves through some individuals and companies in 2011.
According to court papers obtained by Vanguard, yesterday, the case, which is yet to be assigned to a judge, was filed on December 16, 2016, at the FHC registry in Abuja with nine charges preferred against the key suspects made up of three individuals and six companies allegedly used as conduits in diverting the money.
The suspects in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/268/20 are Duazia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete), Aliyu Abubakar, Mohammed Adoke, immediate past Attorney General and Minister of Justice, who is accused of aiding and abetting the other suspects in his capacity as Justice Minister to commit the alleged crime in 2011.
Others are legal entities, including Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, Rocky Top Resources Limited, Imperial Union Limited, Novel Properties and Development Company Limited, Group Construction Limited and Megatech Engineering Limited.
Etete and Adoke
The charges against Dan Etete
Count 1: “That you Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, on or about August 24, 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this court, directly or indirectly took control of the sum of
$400 million paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No. 41451493 IBAN 30CHAS609242411492 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London into the account of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited domiciled in BankPHB Plc (now Key Stone Bank) account No. 1005552028 when you knew that the funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: fraud and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15( 2) of the Money Laundering Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Count 2: “That you Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd on or about August 10, 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, directly or indirectly took control of the sum of $401 million paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No. 41451493 GB 30 CHAS609242411493 domiciled in JP Morgan Chase Bank in London into the account of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited domiciled in First Bank Nigeria PLC account No. 2011828805 when you knew that the funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: fraud and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15( 2) of the Money Laundering Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Count 3: “That you Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd on or about August 10, 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, directly or indirectly took control of the sum of $400 million paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No. 41451493 GB 30 CHAS609242411493 domiciled JP Morgan Chase Bank in London into the account of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited domiciled in PHB Plc (now Key Stone Bank) account No. 1005552028 when you knew that the funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: fraud and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15( 2) of the Money Laundering Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Count 4: “That you Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, on or about August 24, 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this court directly or indirectly took control of the sum of $401, 540,000.00 paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No. 41451493 IBAN 30CHAS609242411492 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London into the account of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited domiciled in BankPHB Plc (now Key Stone Bank) account No. 1005552028 when you knew that the funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: fraud and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15( 2) of the Money Laundering Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.”
Charges against Aliyu Abubakar
Count 5: “That you Aliyu Abubakar, Rocky Top Resources Ltd, sometime in 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did retain the sum of $336, 456, 906.78 only in Bank PHB (now Key Stone Bank) account No. 1005556552 belonging to Rocky Top Resources Ltd, when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Dan Etete and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd to wit: fraud and you thereby committed and offence contrary to section 15 (2) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Count 6: “That you Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd sometime in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court having reason to know that the aggregate sum of $801,540,000 only represents the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, to wit: fraud in respect of the said amount used the said funds and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15 (2) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Count 7: “That you Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete), Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd and Mohammed Adoke Bello, SAN, CFR, sometime in 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired among yourselves to commit Money Laundering offences contrary to section 15 (2) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Count 8: “That you Mohammed Adoke Bello, SAN, CFR, on or about August 10, 2011 in Abuja sometime in 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, aided Dauzia Dan Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd to commit the offence of money laundering by facilitating the payment of an aggregate sum of $801,540, 000 only to Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd through the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No. 41451493 IBAN 30 CHAS609242411493 domiciled JP Morgan Chase Bank in London, which you reasonably ought to have known represented the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: fraud and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Count 9: “That you Aliyu Abubakar, Rocky Top Resources Ltd, Novel Properties and Dev. Co. Ltd, Group Construction Ltd and Megatech Engineering Ltd between August and December 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, disguised the origin of an aggregate sum of $478,603,750 only by paying several companies for services rendered when you reasonable ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Dan Etete and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd to wit: fraud and you thereby committed and offence contrary to section 15 (2) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.
Adoke has, however, denied any wrongdoing in the matter, saying the deal was approved since the days of Obasanjo Government in 2003 and he merely carried out what was approved to bring the controversial oil block deal to an end in the interest of Nigeria and other parties involved.
He is, however, not yet back in Nigeria to defend himself but it is not clear if he would come home with the pressing of charges against him by the Federal Government.