Ponzi scheme: Court orders final forfeiture of bank’s N6.6bn shares, N42.4m

Justice  F. N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ordered the final forfeiture of

2,041,087,747.00 units of Livingtrust Mortgage Bank Plc, formerly known as Omoluabi Mortgage Bank Plc, valued at N6,674,356,932.69.

The court also ordered the final forfeiture of the sums of N42,461,096.66 and $26.44.

The shares and the funds in the accounts were traced to Cititrust Holdings Plc and its subsidiaries.

The Judge gave the order, following a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos through its counsel, Ahmad A Usman.

Justice Ogazi had earlier granted the interim forfeiture of the properties and also ordered the publication of the said order in a national newspaper for any interested parties to show cause why they should not be finally forfeited to the victims.

Moving the application for the final forfeiture, Usman said the Commission  had published Cititrust Holdings Plc and some of its subsidiaries as part of the companies being prosecuted for operating as a Ponzi scheme.

He said the properties were found to have been purchased with several investors’ funds.

“The shares were initially purchased from Osun State Government by Cititrust, using some SPVs and later harmonized and transferred to the name of Cititrust Holdings Plc,” he added.

The respondent, Cititrust Holdings Plc, however, contested the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture through a motion and an affidavit.

In his ruling, the court discountenanced Cititrust’s application and affidavit to show cause and saw merit in the EFCC’s application.

The Judge, consequently, ordered the final forfeiture of the 2,041,087,747.00 units of Livingtrust Mortgage Bank Plc, the sums of N42,461,096.66 and $26.44 to the victims.

The Judge also ordered that the victims be paid what is due to them and the remainder, if any, be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The Star