The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to order the forfeiture of N9.08 billion allegedly laundered for former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, to the Federal Government.
Justice Muslim Hassan had on January 6 ordered the temporary forfeiture of the money.
They include another sum of N23, 446,300,000 and $5milion (about N1.5billion) said to be stashed in different banks.
The court ordered the banks holding the money to supply proof that it was not stolen or risk losing it permanently to the federal government.
Only an Executive Director of First Bank Plc, Dauda Lawal, responded to the call.
EFCC said the allegedly laundered money was a proceed of crime.
The commission’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, on Tuesday prayed Justice Hassan to make an order forfeiting the money permanently to the federal government.
Justify the freezing of the money, the lawyer said Section 17 (1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Related Offences Act makes a property that is reasonably suspected by EFCC to be proceeds of unlawful act forfeitable to the federal government.
Oyedepo said, “Can it be said that from the facts and circumstances of this case, that the N9,080,000,000.00, which is the naira equivalent of $40million cannot be reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity?”
The EFCC lawyer said there was a conspiracy to launder the money, adding that there was “a meeting of the minds” by those it indicted.
