Court Orders Seizure of $2.04 Million, Assets, Shares Connected to Emefiele

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday issued an interim forfeiture order for $2.045 million and seven properties linked to the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

This decision came after an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which suspects these assets are proceeds from unlawful activities.

The EFCC's investigation revealed that "most of the proceeds of Godwin Emefiele’s illegal activities were invested in the acquisition of various properties now sought to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria."

The properties were allegedly acquired using funds derived from unlawful activities rather than legitimate earnings. To conceal the illicit origin of these funds, the properties were registered under cooperating entities' names. The title documents for these properties were recovered during the investigation.

Further details from the investigation indicate that Emefiele used shell companies as vehicles for money laundering and holding proceeds of his illicit activities.

One such instance involved a transaction in 2018 where Olusola Bodunde acquired land in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, and developed three units of 5-bedroom duplexes. In 2020, Ifeanyi Omeke, acting on behalf of Emefiele, paid N460,000,000 for two of these duplexes through Amrash Ventures Limited.

Additionally, the EFCC discovered that Emefiele negotiated kickbacks in return for allocating foreign exchange to companies in need. These kickbacks were part of a broader scheme involving several senior officers of the CBN, who fraudulently converted and transferred large sums of money for personal use.

The investigation also led to the recovery of $2,045,000 and share certificates from Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust in the office of Mr. Collins Ifeanyi Omeke at Zenith Bank's head office.

Justice Akintayo Aluko, after reviewing the submissions and legal authorities cited by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, granted the interim forfeiture of the money, share certificates, and landed properties.