The N179 billion fraud trial of the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr Erastus Akingbola has been adjourned till October 24 by the Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the fraud trial which started 10years ago with Akingbola’s first arraignment was temporarily stopped due to absence of the presiding judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun.
In 2009, Akingbola was arraigned on alleged 26-count fraud charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Charles Archibong which was later struck out, citing lack of diligent prosecution.
The case was appealed and the decision of Justice Charles’ court was overruled and Akingbola was ordered to return to thw Federal High Court for his trial. The Court of Appeal’s decision was affirmed at the Supreme Court.
The EFCC re-arraigned Akingbola before Justice Olatoregun on March 12 on an amended 22-count N179 billion fraud charge.
In the charge, the anti-graft agency alleged that while Akingbola was the MD and Chief Executive Officer of Intercontinental Bank Plc, he used N179,385,000,000 belonging to the bank for “fictitious transactions”.
The commission also claimed that Akingbola used N179 billion to buy Intercontinental Bank Plc’s shares, thereby inflating the market price of Intercontinental Bank shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
In another instance, the EFCC alleged that Akingbola took £1.3 million from Intercontinental Bank Plc’s GBP NOSTRO account at Deutsche Bank, London, and remitted same into the bank account of Fuglers Solicitors with the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, London.
It further claimed that the £1.3 million was paid to Fuglers Solicitors for the purpose of buying a property in the name of Life Boat Settlement Trust, which Akingbola set up.
The EFCC said Akingbola knew the £1.3 million to be proceeds of crime, “to wit: stealing”.
Akingbola pleaded not guilty to the 22 counts.