Fidelity Bank CEO Nnamdi Okonkwo is reportedly pleading with EFCC over soft-landing over $153m (58,293,000,000.00) money laundering scandal.
TruetellsNigeria understands that the Fidelity Bank CEO is reportedly pleading with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s antigraft agency to get a soft-landing over a 14-count charge of conspiracy and money laundering before a federal high court judge.
Reports made available to Newsone Nigeria quoted a source of is familiar with the development to have said that Fidelity Bank MD is said to be lobbying a top official at the Presidency to help him intervene and settle out of court.
However, sources privy to the moves, say the EFCC rejected the plea stressing that Okonkwo must be jailed if found culpable.
Newsone Nigeria recalls that the EFCC had arrested Okonkwo and some officials of Fidelity Bank for allegedly receiving $115m from Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources.
The EFCC also arrested Martins Izuogbe, Fidelity bank’s head of Operations, for his role in the alleged scam, which the anti-graft agency described as unprecedented.
Reports have it that in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election, Diezani invited Okonkwo to help her handle some cash, which would be disbursed to electoral officials and groups.
However, the fraud was uncovered when the EFCC began investigations into how officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom States received N675.1m.
It was gathered that the first company, Auctus Integrated, deposited $17,884,000 into the bank. The second company, Northern Belt Gas Company, deposited $60m while another company, Midwestern Oil and Gas, deposited $9.5m. A fourth company, Leno Laitan Adesanya, deposited $1.85m while the MD himself received $26m in cash.”
Ugonna Madueke, Diezani’s son, later served as a middleman between the former minister and the MD of the bank.
Fidelity Bank officials were arrested, charged to court and granted administrative bail.