A Federal High Court sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital, has been told how Bishop of Maranatha Church, Jonas Katung and a Bank Managing Director of Dadin Kowa Microfinance Bank Limited, Mr. Irmiya Jatau, planned to defraud about 64,000 customers of the defunct Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society to the tune of N11.5 bn.
The court however ordered the remand in prison of Jatau over N11.5bn fraud. The accused were slammed with 24 counts before Justice Musa Kurya. Joined with them in the charge are one Okewole Dayo and Dadin Kowa Microfinance Bank Limited.
In one of the counts filed against the accused, the EFCC alleged that sometime in 2012, they “did conspire with yourselves to commit money laundering contrary to Section 18 (a )of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, as amended by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”
The EFCC also accused them of transferring the sum of N50m from Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society account to a First Bank account, with number 2003050001625, into the Dadin Kowa Microfinance, First Bank account Number-2016452671.
This sum, the count said, represented proceeds of unlawful acts and amounted to an offence contrary to Section 15 (25) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended by the Money Laundering amendment (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 54 of the same Act, among others.
However, when the charges were read to them, a little drama ensued. While all the accused pleaded not guilty, Bishop Katung was caught in two worlds. First he pleaded guilty to one of the counts before suddenly making a reversal and pleaded not guilty.
Having earlier been granted bail by the court earlier on December 9, 2015, Katung was let to walk free while all the others were remanded in prison custody.
The case was adjourned till March 7 for further hearing.
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