Justice Tijjani Ringim of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the interim forfeiture of funds and properties traced to Mr Abidemi Ganiyu Rufai, the suspended aide of the Governor of Ogun State, who is facing charges bordering on wire fraud in the United States following an application for interim forfeiture by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC had on Tuesday asked the court for an order of interim forfeiture to preserve the res and prevent further dissipation of the Rufai’s funds.
The commission had joined Rufai’s firm, Omo Mayodele Global Investment in the suit as respondent.
Justice Ringim’s order covers Rufai’s property located at House 11. Omodayo Awotuga Street, Bera Estate, Chevy View, Lekki, Lagos and funds in his accounts with two new generation banks.
In the ex parte motion filed and argued by Ebuka Okongwu for the EFCC, the antigraft agency furnished the court with an affidavit deposed to by an EFCC investigator, Usman Abdulhamid, detailing the agency’s investigation of Rufai in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The agency further informed the court that it was essential that its prayers of interim forfeiture be granted to preserve the res and prevent further dissipation of the defendants’ funds.
Abdulhamid had averred that Rufai had already dissipated a suspicious N29.37million in tranches of N5,000,000, N5,000,000, N2,730,000, N1,100,000, N2,040,000, N2,000,000, N2,000,000 and N5,000,000 from funds which were warehoused in his accounts in three banks.
It will be recalled that Rufai was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport in New York on May 14 over alleged $350,000 COVID-19 unemployment fraud from Washington State Employment Security Department, in the United States and was indicted for alleged conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In his bench ruling on the application, Justice Ringim granted the EFCC’s order as prayed, holding that, “I am satisfied by the averment in the affidavit deposed to by Usman Abdulhamid and the legal submission of the counsel that this application should succeed and same is accordingly granted as prayed.”
The court further ordered the EFCC to publish the order within 14 days from Tuesday for any interested party to show cause why the funds and properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria and adjourned further proceedings in the matter till December 1, 2021.
EFCC said its investigations into Rufai’s sources of income and bank accounts revealed that on March 19, 2020, there was an inflow of N4,500,000, which was further dissipated the same day in five tranches of N1,000,000 (in four places) and N500,000 into Rufai’s Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Account.
It said subsequent transactions includes but is not limited to “transactions of the sum of N5,000,000 on the 27th March 2020, N5,000,000 on 3rd April 2020; N2,730,000 on the 7th April 2020; N1,100,000; N2,040,000 on the 14th April 2020; N2,000,000 on the 27th April 2020; N2,000,000 on the 28th April 2020; N5,000,000 on the 13th May 2020, and numerous other transactions, which were all dissipated to his GTB Account on the same day of the inflow.”
EFCC said a further search revealed that prior to the first inflow of March 19, 2020, the company account where the money was sent rarely receives such traffic and huge inflows.
“Upon proactive investigative method of asset tracking and recovery conducted by the commission, it was revealed that he owns a property located at House 11. Omodayo Awotuga Street, Bera Estate, Chevy View, Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria,” EFCC said.
The EFCC added that it wrote various letters of investigation activities to various financial institutions, agencies and related regulatory bodies, some of the responses of which are still being awaited.
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