EFCC Grabs Stolen Funds From NIMASA
The Federal High Court in Lagos Monday ordered the forfeiture of £578,080 (about N292 million) allegedly stolen from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and hidden in a Diamond Bank Plc account.
Justice Saliu Saidu made the order based on an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The money was found in an account of a maritime firm, ZAL Marine Limited, EFCC said.
The forfeiture motion, moved by EFCC’s lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo, was anchored on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006.
Oyedepo said the money sought to be forfeited was reasonably suspected to be proceed of unlawful activity.
“An application of this nature is designed to prevent the dissipation of funds/ property that is suspected to be proceeds of crime found in possession of any person without necessarily convicting the suspect in whose custody the property is found,” the lawyer said.
An investigating officer Musbahu Abubakar said EFCC received intelligence on monumental fraud in NIMASA and that part of the proceeds of the fraud was transferred to ZAL Marine by NIMASA employees – Irene Macfoy and Chukwuemeka Emmanuel.
He said Macfoy allegedly used her position as an Assistant Director and Head of Nigerian Seafarers Development Program to facilitate the fraudulent transfer of £1,074,600.00 from NIMASA’s Zenith Bank (UK) account to an offshore account belonging to Swiss Bulk Carriers S.A.
It was allegedly under the false pretense of training 54 nautical science and marine engineering students on March 16, 2013.
“Out of the said £1,074,600.00, the respondent (NAL Marine), without any contractual relationship with NIMASA, also fraudulently received and retained the sum of £578,080.00 from Swiss Bulk Carriers S.A.
“The fund was transferred from NIMASA’s Account without any Parastatal or Ministerial Tender Board approval and/or contract with NIMASA.
“There was no contractual relationship or agreement that existed between NIMASA, Swiss Bulk Carriers S.A and the respondent to warrant this fraudulent transfer of the funds sought to be forfeited,” the operative said.
According to him, before effecting the fraudulent transfer to Swiss Bulk Carrier S.A, the mandatory value added tax remittance to the Federal Government was unlawfully evaded.
“The respondent is a front company to Mrs. Irene Macfoy, an Assistant Director with NIMASA and the Head of the Nigeria Seafarers Development Programme. The respondent is an agent of Swiss Bulk Carriers S.A who fraudulently retained and converted to their use, the total sum of £496,520.00 out of the said £1,074,600.00.
“The respondent is reasonably suspected to have conspired with others to steal the above fund from the Federal Government of Nigeria,” Abubakar said.
