The Federal High Court sitting in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State has convicted and sentenced a fake Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Faruk Umar, to six months imprisonment.
Umar, alongside others, was arrested on August 26, 2024, following intelligence on the activities of illegal Bureau De Change operators at the Eko Hotel area of Victoria Island, Lagos.
He was subsequently arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge bordering on fraudulent foreign exchange transactions.
The charge read: “That you, Faruk Umar, sometime in August, 2024 at Eko Hotel Area, Victoria Island Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1) (a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment, (ETC) Act, 1994 and punishable under Section 11(2) of the same Act”.
He pleaded “guilty “ to the charge when it was read to him.
CBN restricts BDCs to one bank for weekly purchase of $25,000
Following his plea, the prosecution counsel, C.C. Okezie, sought to present an investigative officer of the EFCC, Hamisu Sanni, to review the facts of the matter.
Sanni told the court that the convict confessed to being involved in buying and selling of foreign currency without a licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He told the court that Umar’s phone was subjected to forensic examination, adding: “It revealed over 40 conversations related to forex transactions with other individuals.”
Thereafter, Okezie, through Sanni, tendered in evidence the confessional statements of the convict as well as findings from the investigation.
Okezie prayed the court to convict the fake BDC operator as charged and also sentence him accordingly.
The presiding judge, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, found Umar guilty of the offence and sentenced him to six months imprisonment.
The judge also pronounced a fine of N50,000, in lieu of the prison sentence, which should be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation.
His phone was also forfeited to the federal government.
The Star
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