Business

Stolen N1.5bn pension funds found in Maina’s Account, says witness

Published

4 years ago

November 26, 2020

The trial in absentia of Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman, Pension Reform Task Force Team, continued on Wednesday, with a startling revelation by a witness that N1.5bn of the pension funds was found in the account of the ex-PRTFT boss.

The witness also told Justice Okong Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja during the trial how N14 billion pension money was pilfered under Maina.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC is prosecuting Maina, alongside his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd.

Both are facing a 12-count charge of operating fictitious bank accounts, corruption, and money laundering to the tune of N2 billion.

At the trial, counsel to Common Input Property and Investment Ltd (the second defendant), Adeola Adedipe told the court of his intention to disengage as the company’s counsel.

Though Prosecution counsel, M.S. Abubakar, acknowledged the receipt of the defence counsel’s disengagement application, dated November 25, 2020, and made no objection to it, Justice Abang, ruled that Adedipe should remain counsel to the second defendant by the court records.

The testimonies against Maina continued with that of the ninth prosecution witness, (PW9), Rouqayyah Ibrahim, a principal investigation officer with the EFCC in Anti Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing (AML CFT) unit of the Commission and member, Pension Fraud Team.

He stated that he knew Maina and Input Property Investment Ltd, following the invitation of the EFCC in 2010, to join in the pension verification exercise.

According to him, a payment mandate, bearing the names of several individuals, totalling N94 million was discovered during the course of the verification.

He said some of the pensioners’ names on the list were fake, for which a report was made to the EFCC by the team, leading eventually to the creation of the Pension Fraud Team.

The Pension Fraud Team, he said, wrote to about 30 banks, requesting the bank accounts of Mr. Steven Oransanye as the Head of Service.

It turned out that Oransanye at that time, operated 66 illegal bank accounts, unknown to the Accountant General.

“Our investigation revealed that there were five modus operandi that the suspect whom we were investigating at that time was using to steal money from the pension account.

“In total, we were able to deduce that N14 billion was stolen from the pension account.

“The five modus operandi were payment to fake pensioners, non-existing contracts, illegal payment to National Union of Pension NUP and illegal payment to another association called Association of Retired Federal Civil Servants.

“We discovered that the suspect will often pay companies for non-existing biometric contract and once the payment is made, they withdraw cash and hand it over and likewise payment to the two associations of NUP and Association of Retired Federal Civil Servants.

“They will withdraw the money cash and hand it over to the person who asked them to supply the account.

“Once we concluded the investigation of those who were indicted, they were charged to court, and some have been convicted,” the witness said.

He said Abdulrasheed Maina was part of those indicted and charged before Justice I. Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, but that he ran away for six years. And was arrested and charged before the present court.

The PW9 revealed that Maina as chairman, PRTT was deeply involved in stealing pension funds. One of the things discovered was the payment of N133 million for a non-existing contract to Xanjhi Technology, a company he appointed to computerize the pension payroll.

The money was withdrawn in cash, converted to dollars and handed over to Khalid Biu (PW5), a staff of Fidelity Bank and handed over to Maina’s secretary, Ann Igwe Oluchi, who is now standing trial at FCT High Court Gwagwalada.

Xanjhi Technology and its owner, Ahmed Mazangari are also standing trial for inserting about 15 fake persons into the pension payroll which they were engaged to computerize.

Said the witness, “We also discovered that Frederick Hamilton Ltd, owned by Osa Afe, presently standing trial with Steven Oransanye who received payment for a non-existing biometric contract handed over about N250 million to Maina.

“Our investigation further revealed the existence of six accounts with Fidelity Bank. Out of the six, five were linked to Abdurrasheed Maina.

“We discovered that there was nowhere in the accounts opening packages of these accounts where the name, birthday or signatures of Abdurrasheed Maina appeared.

“These account are: Nafisatu Aliyu Yeldu (PW4) Drew Construction, also an account Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Services Ltd, Cluster Logistics Ltd, Fatima Aliyu. He also had a personal account in his own name with Fidelity Bank, and also in the name of Dr. Abdullahi Faizal.

“For example Nafisatu Aliyu Yeldu’s account bears the name of Abdurrasheed Maina’s sister. It also bears her passport photograph.

“On the face of it, it appears the account belonged to her, but when we invited her for investigation, we discovered she didn’t know anything about the account, even though it contains her name and children but it was not her signature.

“She informed us that she remembers at one point that Toyin Meseke (PW2), who is a Fidelity Bank staff requested for her PHCN (power utility) bill but she wasn’t sure what he wanted it for and that was one of the documents that was used in opening the account.

“She also informed us that when she started receiving alerts, she contacted Toyin Meseke and he promised to deal with the issue.”

“The turnover in Yeldu’s account, the witness said, was over N300m.

“The analysis of the identity used in the opening of Abdullahi Faizal’s account, (one of the many variants of the name Maina used for his son and himself) showed that it was forged, even as Meseke, the account officer, confirmed that Maina had complete control over the account, though his name, signature and photograph did not appear anywhere in the account opening packages. The account had a turnover of about N1.5 billion within nine months from mostly cash deposits from unknown sources.

“We called for the statement of Drew Construction and of his Fidelity Bank, and discovered the same modus by Maina, concealing and stealing the identity of his family members, registering companies in their names, opening corporate bank account without their knowledge.

“In the case of Drew Construction, it was the name of his other sister, Fatima Abdullahi Aliyu. When she was confronted, it showed that she had no knowledge of the account, even though it bore her name and other similar information that belonged to her. The turnover was about N55 million all from cash deposits within a few months.

“We also discovered from Common Input, a company registered by Maina and his wife, using the details of his sister (PW2), taking advantage of his sister-in-law, Mairo Bashir (PW1), who deliberately allowed Maina to conceal his identity without doing the ‘Know Your Customer’ and allowing him to operate the accounts as Fatima Abdullahi. When Fatima was invited, we confronted her that her BVN was linked to Common Input and Kongolo Dynamic Cleaning Services Ltd and she confirmed that she did not know about the existence of the company and that Maina requested her to give her BVN so that she will be removed as a signatory from the company and she wasn’t aware of being a signatory of any company but innocently gave them the BVN, believing that will make her stop being a signatory of the said company.

Justice Abang adjourned the trial till December 3, 2020.

Business

Bitcoin turns Crypto market pink, Investors flee to U.S. Dollar

Published

10 hours ago

February 12, 2025

Trends Admin

Bitcoin turns Crypto market pink, Investors flee to U.S. Dollar

Bitcoin’s correction below $96,000 has caused the cryptocurrency market to turn “pink.”

This most recent rally is by no means inconsequential, as retail and institutional data indicate waning demand.

Although the asset seems to be moving independently of the fundamentals of cryptocurrency, it is being influenced by an unpredictable macroeconomic environment.

Bitcoin is still gaining attention, even though trade tensions between the U.S. and China are causing market jitters. Derivative structures, sentiment indicators, and investment flows all suggest a rise in caution.

The announcement of new Chinese tariffs on the world’s largest economy weakened risk appetite. Bitcoin immediately lost the bullish momentum that was part of a larger trend of people fleeing to safer assets in the face of trade tensions.

Although Donald Trump’s response, which imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum, caused traditional markets to stabilize, the market swiftly recovered and regained confidence.

This political response also allowed Bitcoin to find some air. However, market fundamentals show that retail and institutional weakness indicators are present.

U.S. Economy Supports Fed’s Caution

“Overall, the economy is doing well,” Jerome Powell stated at his Senate hearing on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. As a result, he defended the Fed’s monetary policy wait-and-see approach. Even though inflation is higher than the 2 percent target, the Fed does not anticipate any more rate cuts in the near future.

Monetary easing is anticipated to be restricted to 35 basis points by the end of the year.

The dollar fell 0.17%, or 17 points, and is currently trading at 108 index points on the greenback index in response to this cautious approach.

The spotlight now shifts to the inflation figures for January, scheduled to be unveiled on Wednesday.

If these figures indicate persistently elevated inflation, they might prompt the Fed to prolong its stringent policy, curtailing any optimism surrounding a vigorous reduction in interest rates.

Powell will continue his hearing before the House of Representatives, posing a fresh challenge for the market, which will strive to adjust its forecasts concerning the U.S. monetary policy’s trajectory.

The market is also dealing with a fresh rise in protectionism. The threat of a trade war with the European Union has been reignited by Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25% increase in customs duties on steel and aluminum imports.

The foreign exchange market reacted to these announcements immediately. The Japanese yen lost ground against the dollar, dropping 0.3 percent to 152.0, while the euro increased 0.22% to $1.03. Investors are looking to safe-haven assets in this uncertain climate, especially gold, which is seeing a resurgence in interest.

Global markets are becoming more tense as the Fed maintains its position and the White House toughens its trade stance.

Bitcoin turns Crypto market pink, Investors flee to U.S. Dollar

Business

Emirates, Air Peace in agreement to link 13 Nigerian cities

Published

10 hours ago

February 12, 2025

Trends Admin

Emirates, Air Peace in agreement to link 13 Nigerian cities

As part of a comprehensive Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Airlines and Air Peace have signed an interline pact.

According to experts, the move would enhance connectivity for passengers travelling between Nigeria and UAE.

The experts described the partnership as one of the major steps to drive collaboration between foreign carriers and indigenous operators.

Emirates Airlines said in a statement yesterday that the partnership would expand its footprint to 13 new cities in Nigeria with frictionless single-ticket travel and simplified baggage throughput.

It explained that travellers booked on flights from Dubai to Lagos can access more of Nigeria, with onward connections to Asaba, Akure, Benin , Calabar, Enugu, Ilorin, Kaduna and Owerri.

The interline agreement will also benefit corporate travellers by connecting them to additional cities like , Kano, Uyo, Port Harcourt and Warri.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ deputy president and chief commercial officer said: This partnership with Air Peace is the next step on this journey, bolstering our connectivity and introducing more travel options for corporate leisure, and travellers visiting friends and family to and from Nigeria.’’

Emirates, Air Peace in agreement to link 13 Nigerian cities

Business

NNPC says Kaduna refinery is at 60% completion

Published

10 hours ago

February 12, 2025

Trends Admin

NNPC says Kaduna refinery is at 60% completion

Going words of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemicals Company (KDPRC) has attained more than 60 per cent mechanical completion.

NNPCL Executive Vice President (Downstream) Isiyaku Abdullahi dropped the hint yesterday in Abuja during the NNPCL Workshop/Engagement session with Kannywood artistes.

He said the company has been working assiduously to deliver the refinery this year, adding that the state-run oil firm was simultaneously working on the pipelines with its in-house capacity.

Abdullahi said: “Kaduna in sha Allah should come on stream this year. We are working tirelessly for the pipelines. We are working on Kaduna.