…Court proceedings began after Samuel was arraigned on allegations of conspiracy and money laundering.
LAGOS, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | Court proceedings commenced as Bello Samuel, an employee of a Lagos-based investment company, was brought before a judge over allegations of diverting about ₦90m from the firm’s account for personal use.
Samuel was arraigned by the Police Special Fraud Unit before the Federal High Court in Lagos on allegations of conspiracy and money laundering.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the PSFU spokesperson, Mr Ovie Ewhubare, said the suspect, who worked in the company’s finance department, allegedly executed the fraud through an insider scheme.
Ewhubare explained that Samuel was accused of unlawfully converting company funds for his own benefit. He said investigations commenced immediately after the company lodged a formal complaint with the unit.
The PSFU spokesperson further revealed that after discovering the fraud had been exposed, Samuel allegedly fled Lagos with his family to an undisclosed location, severing all communication in a bid to evade arrest.
According to the statement, operatives traced the suspect across several South-West states before he was eventually arrested in Oye-Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
Ewhubare added that further investigations showed the suspect routinely laundered the proceeds of the alleged fraud through the bank accounts of friends and relatives in order to conceal the source of the funds.
While noting that Samuel has been charged to court, he said efforts were ongoing to apprehend other individuals believed to be involved in the offence.
The statement also quoted the Commissioner of Police, Police Special Fraud Unit, Lagos, Mr Kayode Ojapinwa, as reaffirming the unit’s resolve to tackle financial crimes.
Ojapinwa urged corporate organisations to strengthen internal control systems, particularly in monitoring staff activities, to prevent insider-related abuses.
Meanwhile, it was reported in January that Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, convicted and sentenced a 64-year-old former Lagos State education director, Olawale Feliti, to two years and five months in prison for stealing ₦48,992,271.73 from Access Bank Plc.
Feliti was sentenced after being found guilty on a five-count charge of theft brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
