Former FBN Holdings Chairman Oba Otudeko, in the midst of a N12.3 billion superior payment fraud go well with alongside three others, has flown to London forward of his arraignment deliberate for Monday.
A supply aware of his itinerary instructed PREMIUM TIMES Friday that he flew out of Lagos on Thursday on a British Airways flight to London.
Insiders near the guts of the matter on the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC), the prosecutor, stated they weren’t conscious of the event.
The arraignment would proceed as scheduled on Monday with the three others, however they added that if Mr Otudeko fails to indicate up in courtroom, the fee would search a bench warrant for his arrest.
The anti-corruption company opened a can of worms on Thursday after submitting numerous costs in opposition to him, together with falsification, diversion of mortgage proceeds and fraud.
Bisi Onasanya, who was the CEO of FBN Holdings throughout a part of the time when Mr Otudeko was chairman, and Soji Akintayo, a former director of Honeywell Flour Group and Anchorage Leisure Restricted, are co-defendants within the case.
Mr Otudeko holds the controlling stake in Honeywell Flour Mills, listed in Lagos.
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Background
One of many revelations from the submitting of the costs on the Federal Excessive Court docket, Lagos on Thursday was the allegation that the 4 procured Honeywell Flour Mills to retain the sum of N1.5 billion from proceeds of alleged illegal actions in December 2013.
Each Mr Otudeko and Mr Onasanya had been stated to have procured one Abiodun Olatunji and Raymond Eze to maneuver N6.2 billion from “proceeds of illegal actions” to an account of Stallion Nigeria domiciled with First BANK.
The duo additionally had been alleged to acquire Mr Olatunji and Eze to switch N2.1 billion from an account of Stallion Nigeria Restricted with First Financial institution to Emmerado Logistics Restricted’s account with First Metropolis Monument Financial institution.
“Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo and Anchorage Leisure Restricted on or in regards to the third day of September 2013 in Lagos and throughout the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court docket made a cast doc titled AUTHORISATION TO ISSUE INVESTMENT CERTIFICATE TO FIRST BANK,” the prosecution said.
READ ALSO: EFCC arrests 5 Katsina inner income officers over alleged N1.3billion fraud
In keeping with the EFCC, the 4 defendants supposed that First Financial institution could use the certificates below the impression that the doc was real and got here from V-Tech Hyperlinks Dynamic Restricted.
In 2021, the Central Financial institution of Nigeria ousted Mr Otudeko from the monetary companies group’s chairmanship for allegedly violating the establishment’s company governance ideas.
The regulator cited his function within the elimination of Adesola Adeduntan, the then-CEO of the establishment.
The far-reaching shake-up additionally led to the dismissal of the whole board of First Financial institution, the business banking subsidiary of the group.
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