tells EFCC
A banker has told detectives how she ran five
accounts used to perpetrate a N2bilion pension
fraud in the Office of the Head of the Civil
Service of the Federation.
Former Pension Reform Task Team chief
Abdulrasheed Maina is wanted by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the
alleged pension fraud.
The EFCC is probing Maina's alleged complicity
in the operation of the accounts, following the
confessions of Fidelity Bank Account Officer
Toyin Meseke.
Besides, Meseke is said to have told the EFCC
that Maina had been operating a safe deposit
box with the bank.
EFCC's investigators found that withdrawals
from the five accounts were usually channelled
through some bureaux de change to an account
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The bureaux de change are JIEK BDC, West
Waves and Alnasara.
A document obtained by our correspondent
identified the accounts as Cluster Logistics,
Nafisatu Aliyu, Abdullahi Faizal, Kangolo and
Drew Investment.
Meseke spilled the beans on how the accounts
were managed by a suspected pension fraud
syndicate.
Meseke said: "I managed Nafisatu Aliyu, Cluster
Logistics and Abdullahi Faizal for Abdulrasheed
Maina as soon as his brother, Khalid Aliyu, left
the bank three years ago.
"Though all the three accounts do not carry
Abdulrasheed Maina's name but I carried out
instruction on the accounts for him as explained
to me by his brother that Abdulrasheed Maina
owns all funds in the accounts before he
resigned from the bank.
"He is not a signatory to the three accounts
mentioned. He usually called me on my phone
number -08057465698 – to carry out instruction
on all the three accounts.
"And he also sent e-mail instructions through his
email gajipeace@gmail.com to my personal
email freshicekiddy@yahoo.com to carry out
instructions. Thereafter, he would send
someone to the bank to give me a form of
regularisation on the transactions done on all the
three accounts.
"Sometimes when it is getting too late to
regularize, I would call to remind him and asked
me to come to his house in Kado to receive the
regularised cheques.
"Most time, precisely on two occasions, I
received the already signed regularised
cheques in an enveloped sealed at the gate of
his house.
"On 3/10/14, Abdulrasheed sent an instruction
to debit Cluster Logistics with the sum of N15,
870, 690 and credit to a Bureau De Change
account (JIEK BDC). This amount was converted
to US dollars for onward delivery to him. I don't
know, I cannot remember the USD equivalent.
"Also on May 2, 2014, Abdulrasheed Maina sent
a mail carrying instruction that the sum of N33,
880,000 be debited from the same Cluster
Logistics and transferred to a Bureau De
Change (West Waves). This was converted by
the BDC customer and delivered to him.
"He scanned and sent another instruction on
May 6, 2014 to me to debit Cluster Logistics with
N47, 500, 00 and credit to BDC Customer, West
Waves BDC who converted and sent to him.
"On the transaction that took place on July 3,
2015 in Abdullahi Faizal, he (Abdulrasheed
Maina) sent an e-mail that the account be
liquidated and converted to US dollars (USD).
So, I got a bureau de change customer to
convert the sum of N108million for him."
Regarding accounts opened in the names of
Kangolo and Drew Investment, Meseke added:
"I am not sure who the account officers are.
Sometimes last year, I got to know that
Abdulrasheed Maina owns these accounts. I
have never initiated any transaction on these
accounts."
Meseke also confirmed that Maina was
operating a safe deposit box with the bank.
She, however, said Maina has sole access to
the box.
She added: "As for the safe deposit box, I got to
know that Maina maintained a safe deposit box
after I joined in 2011 when he came to access
his box and that the box had been in existence
before I joined the bank in 2008. The last time I
saw him coming to access his box was in 2013
but I cannot remember the exact month."
Yesterday Maina's lawyer Mrs Esther Uzoma,
said: "We are waiting for the amended charges
which the EFCC said contained the allegations.
"The EFCC has been saying that Maina operated
slush accounts but they have not shown us any
evidence."
In a statement on Tuesday in Abuja she said:
"The EFCC should come clean on the matter of
my client, Dr. Abdulrasheed Maina. When I
appeared before His Lordship, Justice Kolawole
on July 21, I made it clear that the EFCC was yet
to file any charge as well as serve any
summons on Dr. Maina.
"It is trite law that you cannot say an accused is
on the run when there is no charge preferred
against him or any invitation extended to him.
"During the hearing for the bail application,
counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN),
wanted the court to direct me to produce Maina
in court at the next sitting but I argued that there
are clear procedures, which the EFCC is familiar
with and should follow.
"Naturally, the court agreed with my submission
on the position of law. Therefore, it is misleading
for the EFCC in its statement of Monday to
mislead the public that there exists an order for
Maina to be produced in court when there is no
invitation extended to him let alone a charge
preferred against him by the commission.
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