A Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State, on Wednesday ordered the prison remand of the Managing Director of Dadin Kowa Microfinance Bank Limited, Mr. Irmiya Jatau, over N11.5bn fraud.
Also remanded was the Bishop of Maranatha Church, Jonas Katung, who was charged alongside Mr. Jatau by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which accused both men of defrauding hundreds of depositors.
The accused were slammed with 24 counts.
Joined with them in the charge before Justice Musa Kurya are, Okewole Dayo and Dadin Kowa Micro-finance Bank Limited.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants conspired to defraud over 64,000 customers of the defunct Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society to the tune of N11.5bn.
In one of the counts filed against the accused, the EFCC alleged that sometime in 2012, you “conspire with yourselves to commit money laundering contrary to Section 18 (a )of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, as amended by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”
They were also accused of transferring the sum of N50m from Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society account to a First Bank account, with number 2003050001625, into the Dadin Kowa Microfinance, First Bank account Number-2016452671.
This sum, the count said, represented proceeds of unlawful acts and amounted to an offence contrary to the Money Laundering amendment (Prohibition) Act 2012.
When the charges were read, all the accused persons pleaded not guilty, except Bishop Katung, who pleaded guilty to one of the counts before he suddenly changed his mind and pleaded not guilty like others.
The case has been adjourned till March 7 for further hearing.
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