A Lagos-based businessman, Sennaike Opeoluwa, has been dragged before the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence, forgery, and possession of false documents.
The businessman was charged to court alongside his firm, Sennaike Consulting Limited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
They appeared before Justice O.A. Okunuga for allegedly fraudulently obtaining sums of $5 million and N800 million from unsuspecting members of the public.
When the charges were read to him, the defendant pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution counsel, Ahmed Yerima, prayed the court to remand the accused and also asked for a trial date.
The defence counsel, Akeem Akinroye, however, made an application for bail for his client, arguing that “he doesn’t constitute a flight risk.”
The judge, however, noted that the court was a court of records.
The defendant was ordered to be remanded at the correctional centre, pending when a formal bail application would be brought before the court.
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The case was adjourned until June 28, 2023, for trial.
In another news, a first prosecution witness in the trial of Eze Harrison Arinze, has told Justice J. K. Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, how Arinze allegedly received $382,000 worth of bitcoins from his victims before his account was blocked by his Virtual Asset Service Provider, VASP.
The witness, Ogunjobi Olalekan, an officer of the EFCC, told the court that Arinze’s victims were deceived into withdrawing their funds and deposited them into Arinze’s bitcoin accounts, thinking that they were transacting legitimate businesses.
Arinze was arraigned on March 22, 2023, before Justice Omotosho, on five count charges bordering on obtaining by false pretence and money laundering to the tune of $769,263.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him.
At the resumed trial of the case, Olalekan told the court that, “We requested for users on the platform who have deposited crypto currency to the defendant’s account and their names were provided. About thirty persons on the platforms deposited various sums of bitcoin to the defendant’s account.”
Olalekan told the court that 28 out of the 30 depositors were reached through their email addresses to establish the purpose of the various sums they deposited in the defendant’s account and what they knew about “Swiss-Coin, Swiss earning, Swiss coins and Digitrades.ltd.”
After listening to the witness testimony, Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter for continuation to June 14, 2023 and ordered the remand of the defendant in Kuje Correctional Centre.