By Correspondent in Abuja.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 16 for ruling on whether the Managing Director of SunTrust Bank, Halima Buba, can cross-examine an EFCC witness on issues raised during his evidence-in-chief in an ongoing $12 million money laundering case.
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the matter on Monday following an objection raised by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), against a question posed to the witness by Johnson Usman, SAN, counsel to Buba.
During cross-examination, Suleiman Ciroma, owner of Funnacle BDC Ltd and the first prosecution witness (PW1), was asked by Usman to confirm the identities of those who allegedly collected dollars from Mrs. Aisha Achimugu, Managing Director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd.
Usman had earlier asked Ciroma to confirm that Hassan Dantani is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Ashrap Energy Oil Ltd, to which the witness replied in the affirmative. Ciroma also confirmed that Dantani heads Ashrap BDC Ltd.
The defence counsel further asked Ciroma to confirm that Trimisi Mohammed Usman, earlier mentioned in his testimony, is a director of Triple A and D Nigeria Ltd and Triple A and D BDC Ltd, which the witness also affirmed.
However, when Usman asked Ciroma to confirm that Dantani of Ashrap BDC and Trimisi of Triple A and D BDC collected the dollars from Achimugu, Oyedepo objected, arguing that the question was irrelevant to the facts before the court.
He contended that the issue in dispute, as captured in the charge, bordered strictly on cash transactions involving Ashrap Energy Oil Services Ltd, not Ashrap BDC.
“Though the word ‘Ashrap’ appears in both entities, they are distinct legal entities,” Oyedepo argued.
“The transactions in question, as contained in the charge, were conducted by Ashrap Energy Oil Services Ltd, and they exceeded the legal threshold without being routed through financial institutions.”
He cited Sections 21(a), 2(1), and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, arguing that BDC firms, though recognized as financial institutions, were not part of the transactions under investigation.
In response, Usman disagreed, stating that the objection sought to “muzzle the defence.”
“The defendants, having pleaded not guilty, have shifted the burden of proof to the prosecution,” he argued. “Cross-examination need not be confined to the examination-in-chief.”
He maintained that Ciroma had, during his earlier testimony, mentioned Dantani and Trimisi as those who collected the dollars from Achimugu and converted them to naira.
“We are merely referring him to what he already said in court,” Usman added, urging the judge to overrule the objection and compel the witness to answer the question.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case until October 16 and 17 for ruling and continuation of trial.
Buba and her co-defendant, Innocent Mbagwu, Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank, are standing trial on a six-count charge of money laundering to the tune of $12 million.
The EFCC alleges that the defendants aided high-value cash transactions without routing them through a financial institution, contrary to Sections 21(a), 2(1), and 9(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same law.
They were arraigned on June 13, pleaded not guilty, and were each granted N100 million bail with one surety in like sum.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
