The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun knowledgeable the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Abuja on Monday that operatives have recovered properties value N6 billion from suspected fraudsters as a part of an ongoing investigation right into a N21 billion alleged fraud and cash laundering scheme involving 2,039 bank accounts.
Audu Garba Esq., Authorized Officer of the Drive Intelligence Division (FID), disclosed this to Justice Obiora Egwatu throughout his ex parte movement listening to.
Nairametrics stories that the IGP is investigating a case of large-scale fraud and cash laundering amounting to N21.4 billion.
The alleged fraudsters, who reportedly personal the implicated bank accounts, are accused of transferring vital sums throughout 56 monetary establishments utilizing the names of corporations, enterprises, and cronies to disguise possession and transaction origins.
IGP Investigation
The police acknowledged in courtroom paperwork that the accounts for which reliefs are sought are topic to investigation, inquiry, and examination by the Nigerian Police Drive Investigation Division in Abuja.
- Recall that the courtroom had, on March 4, 2025, granted a freezing order on the stated bank accounts beneath Go well with No: FHC/ABJ/CS/335/2025.
- The police argued that it’s essential to protect the established order of the accounts pending the conclusion of investigations and the dedication of potential prison costs in opposition to the suspects.
- The police additional famous that the move of funds into the accounts is being analyzed to establish further people who might have unlawfully benefited from or collaborated within the fraudulent scheme.
“The Inspector General of Police has the powers beneath Part 4 and different extant legal guidelines to research and prosecute crimes in Nigeria,” the IGP acknowledged.
What Transpired in Courtroom
Throughout the courtroom session, Garba knowledgeable the choose that his movement, dated April 28, 2025, sought a 60-day extension of the sooner post-no-debit (freezing) order on the two,039 accounts in 56 banks and monetary establishments throughout Nigeria.
“An order of this Honourable Courtroom granting a sixty (60) day extension of the order granted on March 4, 2025, in Go well with No: FHC/ABJ/CS/335/2025, directing all of the Banks and Monetary Establishments listed as Respondents to freeze (place a Submit No Debit) on all of the Accounts listed in Appendix A and the accounts of the retailers listed in Appendix B—totaling 2,039 Account holders hooked up to the appliance—and arrest the account holders on sight,” a part of the movement learn.
- Garba defined that following the sooner freezing order, the Drive Intelligence Division (FID) in Abuja launched discreet investigations throughout varied states and arrested some suspects, “recovering properties value N6 billion—a part of the N21 billion suspected to be proceeds of illegal actions linked to the account holders.”
- He added that the investigation stays ongoing, as some arrested suspects have made confessional statements implicating their accounts and others within the alleged crime.
- He emphasised {that a} substantial portion of the funds stays within the frozen accounts and others which can be but to be frozen, warning that suspects might try to liquidate the funds and evade justice if the accounts are unfrozen prematurely.
“Unfreezing the accounts at this stage could be untimely, because the suspects might dissipate the funds and jeopardize additional investigations, thereby rendering the police’s efforts and any subsequent courtroom motion futile,” he argued.
- Garba advised the courtroom that proof in opposition to the suspects and others nonetheless at massive is substantial and sophisticated, and that extra time is required to finish the investigation and guarantee efficient prosecution.
- Therefore, the request for a 60-day extension of the freezing order.
What the Decide Mentioned
- After reviewing the lawyer’s movement and affidavit, Justice Egwatu granted a 60-day extension of his earlier order freezing the implicated bank accounts.
What This Means
This improvement underscores ongoing efforts by legislation enforcement authorities, notably the Nigerian Police, to curb monetary crimes and implement the provisions of the Cash Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
- An analogous case occurred a couple of months in the past, wherein a freezing order was obtained on 21 bank accounts allegedly linked to cash laundering and different illegal actions.
- A police detective testified that the suspects’ actions have been indicative of cash laundering and designed to hide the origin of the illicit funds.
The Cash Laundering Act 2022 prescribes jail phrases for offenses similar to concealing the origin of funds, destruction of proof, and fraud.
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