N35bn found in Mompha’s accounts, witness tells court
The sixth prosecution witness, Idi Musa, in the trial of Ismaila Mustapha, (a.k.a Mompha) on Monday, told Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos how N35bn was found in two bank accounts linked to the defendant.
The Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, had, on January 12, 2022, arraigned Mompha alongside his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited, on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy to launder funds obtained through unlawful activity, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, laundering of funds obtained through unlawful activity, failure to disclose assets and property, possession of documents containing false pretences and use of property derived from unlawful act.
One of the counts read, “Ismaila Mustapha, Ahmadu Mohammed (at large) and Ismalob Global Investment Limited, sometime in 2016, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to conduct financial transactions to the tune of N5,998,884,653.18 with the intent of promoting the carrying on of specified unlawful activities to wit: obtaining by false pretence.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to him.
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On September 22, 2022, Justice Dada had ordered that the trial of Mompha would continue in absentia after he jumped bail.
At Monday’s proceedings, Musa, an investigator with the EFCC, while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, S. I. Suleiman, narrated how he knew the first and second defendants in the course of investigations into the alleged criminal activities.
He told the court how the commission had received intelligence from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, informing it that the first and second defendants were into cybercrime in the United States of America, USA.
In his testimony, he said, “Sometime in 2019, we received intelligence from the FBI, USA. The letter was addressed to the commission, informing us that the first and second defendants were involved in cybercrime, otherwise known as Yahoo Yahoo.”
According to him, in the course of the investigation, some letters were written to two major banks requesting the account statements of the second defendant linked to the first defendant.
In his further testimony, he told the court that “The account statements were received and analysed.
(PUNCH)
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