The Enugu command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has brought charges against a forex broker, Daniel Chukwuka Koussou, for an alleged fraud amounting to N112 million.
According to a statement released on its official handle on Sunday, the anti-graft agency stated that the forex broker was arraigned before Justice C. O. Ajah of the State High Court sitting in Independence Layout.
The statement revealed that Mr Koussou was arrested following claims by “a petitioner who alleged that he sent $276,000 to the defendant, a supposed agent for Providus Bank, to convert into naira and return same.”
According to the EFCC, the petitioner said that, “on July 6, 2022, Providus Bank paid Koussou the full money in Naira but the defendant sent part-payment of N21,759,771 to him (the petitioner) and diverted the rest for his personal use. All efforts made to get him to pay up proved abortive.”
The EFCC stated that the defendant was therefore “arraigned on a one-count charge bordering on criminal conversion and stealing to the tune of N112,800,800.00 (One Hundred and Twelve Million, Eight Hundred Thousand, Eight Hundred naira).”
“That you, Daniel Chuwuka Koussou sometime in July 2022, in Enugu, Enugu State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did commit a felony to wit: stealing by fraudulently converting to your own use the sum of N112,800,800.00 (One Hundred and Twelve Million, Eight Hundred Thousand, Eight Hundred naira), property of Chinedu Igbokwe and thereby committed an offence,” the count charge read.
The EFCC said, “The offence is contrary to Section 342 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 30 of the Laws of Enugu State and punishable under Section 353 (1) of the same Law.”
After the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge read to him, the EFCC counsel, Ahmad Yusuf Abdullahi, prayed the court for a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded at the state Correctional facility.
The defence counsel, Ogechukwu Agbo, however informed the court about a motion on notice for bail for her client, but the anti-graft agency’s counsel vehemently opposed the application on the grounds that “the defendant might jump bail considering the weight of the allegation my lord.”
Justice Ajah, therefore “granted bail to the defendant in the sum of N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) and two sureties in like sum. The sureties must be resident within jurisdiction. They must swear an affidavit of means, show evidence of tax payment for the past three years, deposit two full size photographs, be public servants of not less than Grade Level 16 and they must be verified in writing by the prosecution.”
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