Anti-graft agency prosecutes Beninoire businessmen over N630m fraud

The EFCC has continued in its prosecution of two Beninoire businessmen,

In a report by SaharaReporters, Justice O. A. Taiwo of the State High Court sitting in Igbosere, Lagos, on March 30, 2017, admitted as evidence, a Zenith Bank Plc statement of account,tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Gnanhoe Sourou Nazaire, a citizen of the Republic of Benin.

The statement also read that Nazaire is being prosecuted alongside Finagnon for allegedly defrauding one Rachidatou Abdou and her company, Rana Prestige Manufacturing Industries Nigeria Limited, to the tune of N630,000,000 (Six Hundred and Thirty Million Naira Only).

One of the counts reads: "That you, Gnanhoue Sourou Nazaire and Senou Modeste Finagnon, between 5th January and 31st December 2012 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, with a dishonest intent, converted to your own use the sum of N141,460,915 (One Hundred and Forty One Million, Four Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fifteen Naira Only) property of Rana Prestige Manufacturing Industries Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offense contrary to section 285(1) of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State."

At the sitting, the document, which was admitted as exhibits B-C, was tendered by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, through the prosecution witness, John Olorundare, Chief Compliance Officer, Zenith Bank Plc. Lagos.

When the prosecution counsel sought to tender some other documents detailing the transactions on the account of the first accused person, Nazaire, the defense counsel, Ricky Tarfa, SAN, objected to their admissibility, arguing that they are foreign documents.’’

Tarfa, who likened the documents to international passport, ECOWAS travels certificate, further submitted that the documents from the Zenith Bank were photocopies certified by the EFCC instead of the Corporate Affairs Commission and Zenith Bank Plc.

The matter was adjourned to March 31, 2017 for continuation of trial by Justice Taiwo.