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2 Top Keystone Bankers, Indian Businessman Jailed For 5 Years Over N855 Million Fraud

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The Lagos State High Court on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, sentenced two top Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank officials, Anayo Nwosu and Olajide Oshodi, and Ashok Israni, an Indian businessman, to five years imprisonment for N855 million fraud.

Kudirat Jose, the presiding judge,  also found Israni’s company, NULEC Industries Limited and Keystone Bank guilty of fraud.

The convicts were originally arraigned in 2012, but later re-arraigned by the on October 4, 2016, along with Sunny Obazee on an amended 15-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining by pretence.

The prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said they committed the offence between 14 July and 31, 2008, in Lagos.

The anti-graft commission said they fraudulently converted N285 million, being the property of Dozzy Oil and Gas Ltd, to their use.

The judge found that they credited NULEC’s account with the money to defray its debt to Keystone Bank (former Bank PHB).

The money was meant to be paid into NULEC’s Private Placement Account for the purchase of shares.

“That you, Anayo Nwosu, Ashok Israni, Olajide Oshodi, Sunny Obazee, Bank PHB Plc/Keystone Bank Ltd and NULEC Industries Limited, between 14 July and 31st July 2008, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did fraudulently convert to your use the sum of N285, 000, 000.00 (Two Hundred and Eighty-Five Million Naira) being the property of Dozzy Oil and Gas Ltd, when you credited the account of NULEC with the said sum to defray its debt owed to Bank PHB Plc as against paying the sum into the Private Placement Account of NULEC, which sum was to be used as payment for the purchase of shares of NULEC Industries Limited under a Private Placement,” part of the charge document read.

“That you, Anayo Nwosu, Ashok Israni, Olajide Oshodi, Sunny Obazee, Bank PHB, Keystone Bank Ltd and NULEC Industries Limited, sometime in 2008 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N855,000,000.00 from Dozzy Oil and Gas Ltd, on the false pretence that NULEC Industries Limited was in active profit-making manufacturing and trading activities, thereby purporting same to be payment for the purchase of shares of the said NULEC Industries Limited under a private placement.”

Rotimi Jacobs, the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, tendered several documents and presented witnesses to testify to the court to prove its case against the accused during the trial.

Justice Jose sentenced Mr. Nwosu, Mr. Israni, and Mr. Oshodi to five years imprisonment each on counts to five years imprisonment each on counts 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10 and 13 of stealing.

The Judge, however, convicted and sentenced the first, second and third defendants

Delivering her judgment, Justice Jose discharged and acquitted the fourth defendant, Obazee.

The companies were also ordered to pay a fine of N20 million to the federal government on counts 1, 10 and 13.

The judge also ordered the convicts to restitute the sum of N395 million to the victim of the fraud.

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