More Woes for UBA as EFCC drags Bank to Court over N4.2 billion Fraud [DETAILS]

The arraignment of United Bank for Africa Plc and four others over an alleged N4.29 billion foreign exchange fraud was stalled on Wednesday following the absence of the defendants in court.

The case came up before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had scheduled the defendants for arraignment.

UBA is facing trial alongside Muyiwa Akinyemi, Amangbo Eziashi Stephen, Geeos Global Service Limited and Fedat Global Limited.

The EFCC filed a four-count charge against the defendants bordering on alleged foreign exchange infractions, concealment of proceeds of unlawful activities, retention of criminal proceeds and money laundering.

According to the anti-graft agency, the alleged offences involved the sum of N4,290,112,796.72. One of the counts accused the defendants of conspiring, between September 14, 2022 and March 20, 2023, to sell foreign exchange above rates stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Another count alleged that the defendants concealed the sum of N4.29 billion in a United Bank for Africa account, which the EFCC said was derived from an illegal act.

When the matter was called on Wednesday, prosecution counsel, T.J. Banjo, announced appearance for the EFCC.

Adewale Kamourudeen appeared for UBA, Akinyemi and Stephen, while I.S. Hassan represented Geeos Global Service Limited. There was, however, no legal representation for Fedat Global Limited.

Addressing the court, Banjo said the matter was fixed for report of service of court processes and arraignment of the defendants.

He told the court that all the defendants had been duly served with the charge and other relevant processes, adding that affidavits of service had already been filed.

The prosecutor accused the defendants of attempting to frustrate the trial by staying away from court. Banjo also informed the court that the EFCC had made efforts to arrest the second and third defendants after they allegedly jumped administrative bail earlier granted to them by the Commission.

He said he was surprised that the defendants failed to appear despite being served with the charge and hearing notices. But counsel to UBA and the two individual defendants, Kamourudeen, disagreed with the prosecution.

He told the court that his clients had not been served with the charge or any court process relating to the case. According to him, the defendants only became aware of the matter through media reports.

“The first, second and third defendants have not been served with the information or the hearing notice for today’s proceedings or the previous adjourned date. We got wind of it through newspaper reports. That is why we are here,” he said.

Kamourudeen added that he needed to inspect the court file to confirm the proof of service relied on by the prosecution. Responding, Banjo dismissed the claim, saying UBA’s Compliance Officer, Chima Okugbo, received service on behalf of the bank and the two individual defendants.

He told the court that Okugbo had consistently represented the bank during the investigation and was the same person who accepted service on behalf of the officials.

Justice Oshodi then asked the defence counsel whether he was willing to accept service on behalf of his clients, but he declined, saying he had no instruction to do so.

The judge subsequently adjourned the case till June 16, 2026, for report of service, arraignment and further proceedings.