Court clears ex-Bank PHB boss, Atuche of N25.7bn fraud

A court in Lagos has cleared former Managing Director of Bank PHB, Francis Atuche of a N25.7 billion fraud charge brought against him.

The suit against Atuche, his wife, Elizabeth and the bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Ugo Anyanwu was instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which accused them of stealing and conspiracy.

The High Court, sitting in Ikeja, however ruled on Monday, June 22, 2015, that the EFCC failed to prove that the defendants stole money from the now defunct bank.

Presiding judge, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, also ruled that the EFCC erred when it filed the case before the State High Court rather than the Federal High Court.