Providus Bank $7m Vault Cash Permanently Forfeited Following EFCC Investigation

The $7 million that was hidden in the vault of a Providus Bank branch in the Ikoyi neighborhood of Lagos has been finally forfeited by an Abuja federal high court.

It was understood that the funds were discovered in the master’s account of an oil and gas firm controlled by a well-known woman in society, who is presently facing charges from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The presiding judge, Emeka Nwite, gave the ruling on Monday in response to a final forfeiture application filed by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo.

The interim order for the loss of the amount was issued on August 27, according to the anti-graft agency.

OVERVIEW

Attorney Gbenga Akande said that an interested party will be attending the case when it was called last Friday.

Despite Oyedepo’s and the court’s demand, Akande would not reveal his client’s name.

When he submitted an affidavit explaining why the EFCC counsel should be aware of the interested party’s name, Akande informed the court that the presiding judge ordered Oyedepo to deliver him copies of the documents and postponed the hearing till September 15.

Akande was absent from the courtroom on Monday when the hearing resumed.

On behalf of an interested party, Darlington Ozurumba, another attorney, did, however, attend in court.

Oyedepo then transferred the request for the money’s final forfeiture to the federal government because no one else had expressed interest in the case.

He stated, “Gbenga Femi Akande, Esq., represented the party demonstrating interest at the last adjourned date.”

Ozurumba’s submission on the final forfeiture application was requested by the judge.

According to Ozurumba, he had no objections to the application.

Later, Nwite ordered the final forfeiture of the amount to the federal government after ruling that the EFCC case was meritorious.

AFFIDIAT

An EFCC investigator named Emmanuel Okeibunor deposed the affidavit supporting the ex-parte application.

According to a reliable report that the agency received, $7 million was transferred to and held in the Providus Bank branch under dubious conditions, according to Okeibunor.

According to the investigator, his team was given the report to review and, if deemed believable, to continue the inquiry.

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Investigations showed that the money was secretly stored in the bank’s vault rather than being credited to any known customers’ accounts, according to Okeibunor.

Some of the bank employees who were interviewed, according to the investigator, claimed that the managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited had brought the money to the bank.

On the seven million dollars, Okeibunor stated, “My team interviewed the managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, who insisted that she did not take any money to Providus Bank.”

“The managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited also told my team that she did not repay the seven million dollars she borrowed from Providus Bank Limited.

“That Providus Bank Limited failed to report this transaction as a suspicious transaction to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).”

The money that is being sought to be forfeited is likely the result of illegal activity because it did not represent the known, verifiable, and lawful income of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, the couriers, or Providus Bank Limited personnel.

“As no one came forward to claim the funds from Providus Bank Limited or the commission that recovered the same, it is also possible that the funds sought to be forfeited were abandoned.”