Ikeja: Elijah Adegboye, a compliance officer at Access Bank Plc., gave testimony on Monday in the case of Ismaila Mustapha (also known as Mompha), a popular figure on social media who is accused of laundering six billion Naira.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mompha was absent on Monday.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) attorney, Mr. Suleiman Suleiman, escorted Adegboye onto the witness stand.
The bank got a letter from the EFCC in support of an investigation into the suspected money laundering, the witness said before an Ikeja Special Offenses Court.
He testified before the court that the bank provided the EFCC with the needed papers as per their request.
Adegboye pointed up the bank’s answer to the EFCC, a collection of papers that included a statement of account for one Naptown Records.
“I certify that the different entries recorded in the bank’s database match those mentioned in this statement of account.
He said that “the procedure of producing this document is a typical business practise” and that “the computer and printer utilised were in operational condition as at the time the papers were created.”
The EFCC lawyer requested permission to present the package of papers as evidence.
Judge Mojisola Dada accepted the paper into evidence after the defence attorney, Mr. Kolawole Salami, did not object.
During Salami’s cross-examination, the witness admitted to the court that he was a compliance officer with Access Bank and had more than ten years of experience there.
He continued by saying that Access Bank operated legally and was a terrible corporate entity.
According to NAN, the prosecution notified the court on May 15 that Mompha had been apprehended thanks to the assistance of its overseas allies.
On September 21, 2022, the court ordered the defendant’s trial to start in absentia when he failed to show up.
Mompha and his firm, Ismalob Global Investment Ltd., were charged with eight money laundering charges by the EFCC on January 22.
The court issued a bench warrant for Mompha’s arrest on June 22 as a result of his absence from court.
Also, Dada took back the defendant’s bail.
On June 16, the social media star failed to appear in court.
On June 10, the EFCC charged him with disobeying the court’s order by travelling to Dubai using a fresh passport from another country.
Mompha is accused of conspiring to launder money received through illegal means and obtained via illegal means.
Examples include failing to report assets, using property obtained via illegal activity, possessing a document bearing false pretences, and keeping the profits of criminal activity.
In order to continue the trial, Dada postponed the case to September 18.
