‘$255,000 Forex fraud’: Court grants Mercy Chinwo’s ex-manager N20m bail

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos has granted N20 million bail to music producer and former manager of gospel artiste Mercy Chinwo, Ezekiel Onyedikachi, popularly known as EeZeeTee, following a fresh allegation of $255,000 foreign exchange fraud levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a brief ruling delivered on Friday, Justice Aneke directed that the bail be secured with one surety who must reside in Lagos and own property equivalent in value to the bail amount.

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The court, which had earlier released EeZeeTee into the custody of his lawyer, Ojukwu Chikaosolu, gave the defendant 72 hours to meet the bail conditions.

The EFCC initially filed a 14-count charge against EeZeeTee, accusing him of fraudulently converting funds.

However, the charges were later reduced to seven, with a key accusation being that the defendant engaged in foreign exchange transactions without the necessary licence.

EFCC’s counsel, Bilikisu Buhari-Bala, told the court that in June 2023, the defendant allegedly conducted a $52,895 forex transaction with one Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke without approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to the prosecution, the act contravenes Sections 5 and 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Cap F34, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is punishable under Section 29(2) of the same legislation.

EeZeeTee pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case has been adjourned till June 20, 2025, for trial.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE