$12m fraud: Court rules Oct 16 on SunTrust Bank MD’s right to question witness

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 16 to rule on whether the Managing Director of SunTrust Bank, Halima Buba, can cross-examine a prosecution witness in the ongoing $12 million money laundering case.

Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the trial after Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), objected to a question posed by Johnson Usman, SAN, lawyer to Buba, during cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, Suleiman Ciroma, owner of Funnacle BDC Ltd.

During cross-examination, Usman had asked Ciroma to confirm the names of individuals who collected U.S. dollars from Mrs. Aisha Achimugu, Managing Director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd.

Ciroma affirmed that Hassan Dantani, Managing Director of Ashrap Energy Oil Ltd, and Trimisi Mohammed Usman, Director of Triple A and D Nig. Ltd., were involved. The witness also confirmed that Dantani heads Ashrap BDC Ltd and that Trimisi holds a similar role at Triple A and D BDC Ltd.

When Usman asked the witness to confirm that both Dantani and Trimisi collected the dollars involved in the transaction from Achimugu, EFCC’s lawyer objected, arguing that the question was irrelevant to the case before the court.

Oyedepo contended that the case centers on cash transactions carried out by Ashrap Energy Oil Services Ltd., not Ashrap BDC Ltd., and that introducing the BDC company was misleading and unrelated to the facts in issue.

“Though the word ‘Ashrap’ appears in both names, they are distinct entities. The case before the court concerns transactions by Ashrap Energy and Oil Services Ltd., which allegedly exceeded legal cash transaction limits without passing through financial institutions,” he said.

He maintained that under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, licensed BDCs are also recognized as financial institutions, and the question from the defense was designed to confuse the witness.

However, Buba’s counsel, Usman, disagreed, insisting that the question was both relevant and permissible under the Evidence Act.

“The effect of my learned friend’s argument is that the defendants must accept the prosecution’s version of events. Having pleaded not guilty, the burden rests entirely on the prosecution,” he argued.

Citing Sections 223 and 215(2) of the Evidence Act, Usman explained that cross-examination need not be confined strictly to issues raised during examination-in-chief.

He further noted that the witness had earlier testified that Dantani and Trimisi collected the funds from Mrs. Achimugu and credited her account with the naira equivalent.

“We are only asking him to confirm what he already said in open court.

“The prosecution’s objection seeks to muzzle the defense and prevent fair questioning,” Usman told the court.

Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the case to October 16 and 17 for ruling on the objection and continuation of trial.

Buba and her co-defendant, Innocent Mbagwu, the Executive Director and Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank, are being prosecuted by the EFCC on a six-count charge of money laundering involving $12 million.

The prosecution alleges that the defendants aided high-value cash transactions without channeling them through a financial institution — an offence contrary to Sections 21(a), 2(1), and 9(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.

Both defendants were arraigned on June 13, pleaded not guilty, and were granted N100 million bail each, with one surety in like sum.