N11.4b fraud: EFCC hands over 116 cars to First Bank

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday
handed over 116 cars and 20 landed properties in Edo, Rivers and
Lagos states recovered from Michael Obasuyi Osasogie to First Bank
Plc.

Osasogie confessed to an N11.4billion fraud and sought a plea
bargain.

A statement by the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC,
Mr. Tony Orilade, said Osagie created fraudulent and imaginary
monies through the aid of Fundgate Financial Application.

The statement said: “Trouble began for Osasogie after a petition
he wrote to the Commission against E-tranzact in March 2018.

“The Commission, however, investigated Osasogie’s business
interests, following the receipt of a counter-petition written by
E-tranzact against Osasogie and one of his companies,
SmartMicro.

“SmartMicro was said to have approached E-tranzact in 2012 for
the deployment of bulk purchase solution called “Corporatepay” to
facilitate payment of salaries of Delta State employees in
microfinance banks.

“It was also alleged that e-tranzact configured an additional
outbound fund transfer solution called ‘Fundgate’ in 2017, which
required SmartMicro to maintain a pre-funded settlement account
with First Bank Plc for settlement of account it had initiated.

“However, e-tranzact had further alleged that the bank, sometime
in March 2018, revealed that the settlement account was in debit of
N11, 498,944,038.29.”

Obasuyi, in his statement to the EFCC, confessed to have
committed the crime, stating that he created fraudulent and
imaginary monies through the aid of Fundgate Financial Application
from the company.

Osasogie, said to be Philosophy graduate from the University of
Lagos (UNILAG) was arraigned alongside his firms—Platinum
Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society, SmartMicro Systems Limited and
Platinum Smart Cruise Motors Limited — on May 24, 2018 before
Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in
Ikeja on a 14-count charge bordering on stealing N11, 498, 944,
038.29.

One of the counts reads: “That you, Michael Obasuyi Osasogie,
Platinum Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society, SmartMicro Systems
Limited and Platinum Smart Cruise Motors Limited, sometime in the
year 2016 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable
Court, conspired to commit felony, to wit: stealing of the sum of
N11, 498, 944, 038.29 property of First Bank Nigeria Ltd.”

He pleaded guilty to the charge.

During his trial, an investigator with the EFCC, Orji Chukwuma,
told the court how the proceeds of crime were kept in some new
generation banks.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo,
Chukwuma had told the court that “SmartMicro Systems Limited
assumed a position of a fictitious microfinance bank in Nigeria
through a software, Micro switch Server 1.1 created by the
defendant as well as two genuine microfinance banks, which he used
to carry out his fraud.

“The defendant later opened an account with First Bank Plc and
subsequently raised an overdraft from his fictitious microfinance
bank for his account in the bank, which it ignorantly paid.”

The witness had told the court that when e-tranzact disconnected
from the chain, all the transactions carried out by the defendant
collapsed on his own account with First Bank, thereby leading to
the discovery of the fraud.

The sums of N2, 903,727,563.92, $37, 992.87 and €18,538.09 were
recovered by the Commission from Osasogie’s accounts in various
banks.

The Commission also recovered 116 cars and 20 properties in
Lagos, Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt.

The prosecution counsel had, therefore, urged the court to
convict the defendant on counts one to 14, according to the
law.

The defendant later entered into a plea bargain. The prosecution
counsel urged the court to consider the plea bargain entered into
by the defendant on May 21, 2018 as judgment in his sentencing.

Counsel to the first and second defendant, Osasu Ogebor, had
told the court that his clients went into a plea bargain to give
out what does not belong to him.

“It is not enough for the accused person to say I am sorry for
what he has done. But from his inner heart, he is absolutely sorry,
My Lord,” Ogebor had pleaded.

Lawyers to the third and fourth defendants also aligned
themselves with Ogebor’s prayers.

Justice Dada convicted the defendant on all the counts and
sentenced him to one year imprisonment.

The Judge also ordered the forfeiture of the defendant’s 116
buses, 20 properties and monies in various accounts to First Bank
Plc.

At the handover ceremony, which held in one of the forfeited
houses at Osapa London, Lekk, Lagos, Kaina Garba, Head, Asset
Forfeiture and Recovery Management Unit of the EFCC, Lagos office,
handed over the documents and keys to the properties to Gabriel
Edobor, Head, Remedial and Classified Assets Management Department,
First Bank Plc and Eme Godwin, Group Head, Legal Unit,
E-transact.

Edobor and Godwin thanked the EFCC for ensuring the recovery of
the properties through diligent and uncompromising investigative
efforts.

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