Witness confirms several deposits in Fani-Kayode’s account

A PROSECUTION witness  and a legal officer with the First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB). Mr. Elonna Ezelo Tuesday told a Federal High Court Lagos, that several forms of deposits running into millions of naira were made by Femi Fani-Kayode, while he was the Minister of Aviation.

The witness, however, said there was no formal report  made to any authority concerning the financial transactions by the former minister.

   Fani-Kayode, is standing trial on an amended 40-count charge bordering on money laundering.

  At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, the witness who was led in evidence by the  prosecutor, Mr. Festus Keyamo, told  the court that the accused first had an account with First Atlantic Bank Plc, which later transformed from First Inland Bank Plc, to Finbank Plc, and now FCMB.

 He said as a legal officer of the bank, he collated all statement of account of the accused which revealed several transactions involving cash, cheques, draft and transfers.

   According to the witness, there were four deposit transactions captured in the accused statement of account  between July 2006 and January 2007. He gave the details as follows: N660,000, N6 million, N10. 9 million and  N3.3 million.

   But under cross examination by Defence Counsel, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), the witness told the court that no formal report was made by the bank to any authority, in relation to the statement of account of the accused.

  He also told the court that the transactions in the statement of account of the accused, however, took place before he assumed office as legal officer of the bank.

  He told the court that all his evidence in court was based on the information he retrieved from the computer in which the statement of account of the accused was stored.

 Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia has adjourned till today for continuation of trial.

  Fani-Kayode was first arraigned sometime in December 2008 before Justice Ramat Mohammed on a 47-count charge. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge and Justice Mohammed had granted him bail in the sum of N200 million with two sureties in like sum.

  He was again re-arraigned before Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako, following the transfer of Mohammed from the Lagos Division. Fani-Kayode was again re-arraigned before Justice Ajumogobia on February 11, 2013 after the transfer of Murtala-Nyako.

  Ajumogobia is now the third judge to preside over the case in the last five years, and the charge now bears 40 counts, after the EFCC dropped seven counts out of the original 47.

  In the charge, the accused was alleged to have transacted with funds exceeding the threshold allowed by the money laundering, without going through a financial institution.

   He was alleged to have accepted cash payments in the tune of about N100 million, while he held sway as Minister of Aviation and Minister of Culture and Tourism.

 The offence is said to contravene the provisions of Sections 15(1) (a) (b) (c) (d) and 15 (2) (a) (b) of the Money Laundering (prohibition) Act, 2004.