N35 Billion Found In Mompha’s Accounts – Witness Tells Court

A witness in the trial of Ismaila Mustapha (a.k.a. Mompha) informed Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, how N35 billion was allegedly discovered in two bank accounts related to the defendant on Monday, July 1.

On January 12, 2022, the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charged Mompha and his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited, with conspiracy to launder funds obtained through unlawful activity, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, laundering of funds obtained through unlawful activity, failure to disclose assets and property, possession of documents containing false pretences, and use

One of the counts read, “Ismaila Mustapha, Ahmadu Mohammed (at large) and Ismalob Global Investment Limited, sometime in 2016, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to conduct financial transactions to the tune of N5,998,884,653.18 with the intent of promoting the carrying on of specified unlawful activities to wit: obtaining by false pretence.”

When the charges were read to him, he pleaded “not guilty”.

On September 22, 2022, Justice Dada ordered that Mompha’s trial be continued in absentia after he escaped bail.

During Monday’s sessions, Idi Musa, the sixth prosecution witness and an EFCC investigator, recounted how he met the first and second defendants while conducting investigations into the alleged criminal activities.

He informed the court that the commission had received intelligence from the Federal Bureau of Investigations indicating that the first and second defendants were engaged in cybercrime in the United States of America, USA.

In his testimony, he said, “Sometime in 2019, we received intelligence from the FBI, USA. The letter was addressed to the commission, informing us that the first and second defendants were involved in cybercrime, otherwise known as Yahoo Yahoo.”

According to him, throughout the investigation, letters were sent to two major banks asking for the second defendant’s account statements, which were linked to the first defendant.

In his further testimony, he told the court that “The account statements were received and analysed.”

“During the analysis, we discovered a heavy flow of N30bn through the account of the first defendant (Mompha) in one of the banks and about N5bn in another bank account.

“Letters were written to the FBI, and the Special Fraud Unit of the commission, regarding the defendant’s claim that he was into Bureau De change business, in view of the volume of these transactions.

“A letter was also written to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and other relevant agencies.”

He also informed the court that the inquiry found that the first defendant did not live in Nigeria and that attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.

The witness said, “A letter was written to the Nigeria Immigration Services, on October 16, 2019, to arrest the defendant anytime he was seen in the country.

“On October 18, 2019, the first defendant got information that the Commission was looking for him, while he was in Nigeria. So, he quickly got to the airport and boarded a flight in order to jet out of the country to evade arrest.

“The team got the information through the NIS officers at the airport. By then, Mompha had already boarded the flight. So, they had to call him to come down and he was immediately arrested. He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC by the immigration officers.”

When asked about the findings regarding the defendant’s bank account, Musa said over N30bn was discovered, adding that “he told us that he was into Bureau De Change business. But investigation showed that he was not.

“We have already concluded investigations in that regard. The offences border on money laundering, operating BDC without a licence before a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.”

He also told the court that a forensic analysis report from the FBI revealed that Mompha’s iPhone was used to send account information to a phone number in the United Arab Emirates, which he then used to look for a bank’s Swift Code.

“Upon his arrest, all the properties recovered from him were registered with the Exhibits Section in the EFCC office.

“Most of the properties were released to him on bond, except his iPhone 8 which is still with the commission.

“The items are proceeds of crime because when he was given the Assets Declaration Form, he did not include those items,” he added.

The prosecution then submitted both the first defendant’s statement and the Asset Declaration Form.

The court admitted them into evidence as exhibits P5 and P6, respectively.

As a result, Justice Dada delayed the case until Tuesday, October 8, 2024, for the continuation of the trial.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli