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Two senior officials of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited have been arraigned before the Ikeja Special Offences Court on charges of alleged multi-currency fraud involving $306,667.81 and €50,250.
The defendants, Bakare Oladimeji Surajudeen and James Olukayode Imokwede, were arraigned before the court presided over by Justice Ismail Ijelu on a 10-count charge related to alleged theft and retention of stolen property.
The charges were filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which accused the bank officials of unlawfully diverting funds belonging to their employer.
According to the anti-graft agency, the case originated from a petition submitted by FSDH Merchant Bank, which alleged that an internal audit uncovered unauthorised debits totalling $306,667.81 and €50,250, equivalent to N527,406,916.66.
The EFCC told the court that investigations revealed the funds were allegedly transferred to third parties through the SWIFT payment platform without authorisation.
One of the counts read in court alleged that the defendants dishonestly took the sum of N527,406,916.66, property of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited.”
But the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, prompting the prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, to request a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendants in a correctional facility pending trial.
However, defence counsel Oluwaseun Akintunde and Olajide S. Onasanya informed the court that bail applications had already been filed and appealed for liberal bail conditions.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Ijelu granted each defendant bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum.
The court directed that one of the sureties must be a gainfully employed relative who must provide evidence of tax payment for the past three years, along with proof of livelihood.
The defendants were also ordered to deposit their international passports with the court and were barred from travelling outside Nigeria without prior approval.
The court ordered that they be remanded in a correctional facility, pending the perfection of their bail conditions.
The matter was adjourned to March 25, 2026, for the commencement of the trial. (TRIBUNE)
