The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, October 23, 2019, arraigned a fake foreign currency dealer, Titilayo Eboh, before Justice M. L. Abubakar of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

She was arraigned on five counts bordering on running a banking business without a licence and obtaining money by false pretence contrary to Section 1(2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2014.

One of the charges reads: “That you Titilayo Eboh while a director in Lexantech Bureau De Change, BDC, on or about the 25th of May 2018 at Port Harcourt within the jurisdiction of this honourable court failed to report a transaction of N238 million conducted by your company to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and thereby committed on offence contrary to Section 10 (1) and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against her.

In view of her plea, prosecuting counsel, M. T. Iko prayed the court to fix a date for commencement of trial. Counsel to the defendant, D. L. Davis, however informed the court of a pending application for the bail of his client.

Justice Abubakar ordered that the defendant be remanded in prison custody while the matter was adjourned to Monday October 28, 2019 for hearing of bail application.

Eboh’s troubles started when a petitioner alleged that, sometimes in April 2018, in the course of his real estate development business, he got introduced to the defendant, who presented herself as a currency trader with specialty in buying and selling of US Dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The petitioner alleged that the defendant wooed her victims to invest in her business with the promise of attractive return on their investments. Eboh allegedly convinced the petitioner to invest an initial $200,000 in her business. And, within one week, she allegedly paid the return as promised.

This spurred the defendant into investing $2 million with the promise of getting a return of N40 million per week. The defendant allegedly rendered the return for two weeks and absconded afterwards.

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