The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed Oct. 16 for ruling on whether the Managing Director of SunTrust Bank, Halima Buba, can cross-examine a prosecution witness on issues raised during his evidence-in-chief in an alleged $12 million money laundering case.
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the trial on Monday after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), objected to a question posed by Buba’s counsel, Johnson Usman (SAN), during cross-examination.
Usman had asked Suleiman Ciroma, the owner of Funnacle BDC Ltd and the first prosecution witness, to confirm who collected the dollars from Mrs Aisha Achimugu, Managing Director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd.
Earlier, Usman asked Ciroma to confirm that Hassan Dantani is the Managing Director of Ashrap Energy Oil Ltd, which the witness affirmed. He also confirmed that Dantani is the MD of Ashrap BDC Ltd.
Usman further asked the witness to confirm that Trimisi Mohammed Usman is a director of Triple A and D Nig Ltd, as well as Triple A and D BDC Ltd.
When the defence counsel asked the witness to confirm that Dantani of Ashrap BDC and Trimisi of Triple A and D BDC collected the money from Achimugu, Oyedepo objected, arguing that the question was irrelevant to the charge.
He contended that the charge focused on transactions by Ashrap Energy Oil Services Ltd, not Ashrap BDC, and that introducing a different company would mislead the court.
“The case before the court involves Ashrap Energy Oil Services Ltd. The defendants are being tried for transactions that exceeded the legal threshold without passing through financial institutions,” Oyedepo said.
Citing the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, he noted that the law defines financial institutions to include registered Bureau De Change firms.
However, Usman disagreed, insisting that his question related to evidence already given by the witness.
“The defendants, having pleaded not guilty, have shifted the burden of proof to the prosecution. We are entitled to cross-examine on relevant facts, even beyond what was stated in evidence-in-chief,” he argued.
He maintained that Ciroma had earlier mentioned that Dantani and Trimisi collected the dollars and credited Achimugu’s account with the naira equivalent, adding that the prosecution’s objection sought to prevent the defence from exploring relevant facts.
“This objection is an attempt to muscle the defendants from defending themselves. I urge your lordship to direct the witness to answer the question,” Usman said.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to Oct. 16 and 17 for ruling and continuation of trial.
Buba and her co-defendant, Innocent Mbagwu, Executive Director and Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank, are facing a six-count charge of money laundering amounting to $12 million.
They were alleged to have facilitated high-value cash transactions without routing them through a financial institution, in violation of Sections 2(1), 9(1)(d), and 21(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendants, who were arraigned on June 13, pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of N100 million each, with one surety in like amount.
(NAN)