– Enlists Interpol for Investigation
The Federal Criminal Investigation Department of the Nigerian Police, FCID, Alagbon, Ikoyi-Lagos, South-West, Nigeria has filed a three-count charge of conspiracy and stealing of over N1.6billion, belonging to the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc against five suspects.
The suspects, who include; a Nigerian, Mrs Obiageli Inuwa and four Indian collaborators namely, Nigli Kevin, Sunil Kumar Hari Prasad, Voodi Sumaprakas, and Dhanuka Sunil Kumar, were said to be the Directors of Bharat Ventures Limited and Triton Aqua Limited.
The charges were necessitated by a petition written by a law firm, Anoka & Associates on behalf of Union Bank to the Office of the Inspector General of Police, complaining of a fraud of N1, 626, 139, 795.12 (One Billion, Six Hundred and Twenty Six Million, One Hundred and Thirty Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety Five Naira,Twelve Kobo Only).
The petition alleged that Bharat Ventures Limited and Triton Aqua Limited are sisters registered companies in Nigeria for the purpose of importing frozen fish into Nigeria.
It showed that sometimes in December 2017, Bharat Ventures Limited through her directors applied and were granted an overdraft credit facility of the sum of (One Hundred Million Naira Only) by Union Bank Plc.
The terms of the overdraft facility showed that the repayment of the facility was to flow from the sales and proceeds generated from the company’s operations.
The said directors equally applied and obtained an overdraft facility of the sum of N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira Only) for the purpose of purchasing feed and fingerlings for local production of fish.
As security for the credit facilities, the Directors of Bharat Ventures Limited and Triton Aqua Africa Limited executed an All Asset Debenture over the companies’ assets located at their operation sites at Kaduna, Oyo, Port-Harcourt and Lagos.
However, in the course of banker-customer relationship within the period of the credit facilities, the Directors of the Companies again approached Union Bank and requested for further credit facilities by way of extension of the existing credit facilities.
In line with the companies fresh request, Union Bank granted additional sum of N600,000,000.00 (Six Hundred Million Naira Only) to Triton Aqua Limited vide offer letter dated 05 August 2019 and an additional sum of N1,081,290,000.00 (One Billion Eighty One Million Two Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira Only) vide credit offer letter dated 02 August 2019 to Bharat Ventures Limited.
Bharat Ventures Limited indebtedness to the bank stands at the sum of N1 149, 154, 719.48 (One Billion One Hundred and Forty Nine Million One Hundred and Fifty Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Nineteen Naira Forty Eight Kobo Only) as at 29th August 2019 and Triton Aqua Africa Limited is indebted to the bank in the sum of N476,985,075.64 (Four Hundred and Seventy Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand, Seventy Five Naira Sixty Four Only) as at 29 August 2019.
The companies total indebtedness to the bank as at 29th August 2019 stood at the sum of N1,626,139,795.12 (One Billion, Six Hundred and Twenty Six Million, One Hundred and Thirty Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety Five Naira,Twelve Kobo Only).
As part of measures to ensure proceeds of the fish, feeds and fingerlings for the repayment of the credit facilities, it was agreed by the parties that stock monitoring agents shall be assigned to the companies business premises and in furtherance of that “Storing Limited” was appointed to monitor the sales at the companies business premises situate at 49 Apapa/ Oshodi Expressway, Ijesha -Tedo, Lagos.
However, the bank was shocked to discover on 20th of August, 2019 that all the fishes and fish products stocked in the companies’ business premises in Lagos were diverted away from the companies business premises situate at Apapa. The same situation was also noticed at other warehouses in Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Kaduna.
Upon enquires, it was discovered the companies’ management has illegally, fraudulently and criminally removed all their products from the site and eloped to India.
Further investigation by Union Bank, revealed that the directors of the companies, Mr. Varghese Mathew; Mr. Kelvin Nigli; Mr. Yashpal Jain; Mr. Vijay Mastakar (all Indians) and Mrs. Obiageli Inuwa (a Nigeria) have absconded from Nigeria and eloped to India with the depositors’ fund.
After all efforts made to reach the companies’ directors have proved abortive, the bank was convinced their actions were a premeditated grand deception, calculated from the beginning to defraud the bank of its shareholders’ funds.
The bank consequently requested the intervention of the Inspector-General of Police to ensure the funds are recovered, as the bank is confident in the ability of the interpol to be above board and do justice in the case.
The bank expects the interpol to launch an impartial and painstaking investigation into the substance of the petition and ensure the culprits are made to face justice for their criminal/ fraudulent actions, to serve as deterrent to those, whose stock-in-trade is to hide under the guise of banker-customer relationship to commit fraud and financial malpractices.
The bank requests include, but not limited to the following:
i. Placement of all the Directors on RED ALERT/ NOTICE to ensure they account for the injustice meted out to the bank
ii. Sealing up the companies business premises to forestall further stealing of products and recovering of the remaining products located at:
49 Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Ijesha-Tedo, Lagos;
71 Ordinance Road, Trans Amadi Layout, Port Harcourt;
27 Inuwa Abdukadir Road, Kakuri Industrial Layout, Kaduna;
Fish farm at Gambari Forest Reserve, Ogunmakin Village, Oluyole Local Government, Oyo State.
iii. An Order freezing the bank accounts of the companies and their Directors in all commercial banks in Nigeria.
The bank also requested that the investigation be assigned to the Interpol Annex Close, Force Ikoyi, Lagos Criminal Investigation Department Annex, Alagbon for proximity and logistics sake.
The 3-count charge filed before a Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos by Police Legal Officer, Barrister Oladiran Ayodele, after the conclusion of Police investigation, are:
COUNT I:
That you
(1) OBIAGELI INUWA ‘F’,
(2) NIGLI KEVIN “M”,
(3) SUNIL KUMAR HARI PRASAD ‘M’,
(4) VOODI SUMAPRAKASH ‘M’,
(5) DHANUKA SUNIL KUMAR and others now at large sometimes between the months of December 2017 – August 2019 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court did conspired amongst yourselves to commit felony to with Obtaining Money by False Pretense and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other related offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
COUNT II:
That you
(1) OBIAGELI INUWA ‘F’,
(2) NIGLI KEVE “M”
(3) SUNIL KUMAR HARI PRASAD ‘M’,
(4) VOODI SUMAPRAKASH ‘M’,
(5) DHANUKA SUNIL KUMAR and others now at large on the same date, time and place, obtained and in the aforementioned Judicial Division of this honourable Court did obtain the sum of One Billion, Six Hundred and Twenty Six Million, One Hundred and Thirty Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety Five Naira, Twelve Kobo (N1,626,139,795:12) from Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 1(a), (c) & 1(2) and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006.
COUNT III:
That you
(1) OBIAGELI INUWA ‘F’,
(2) NIGLI KEVIN ‘M’,
(3) SUNIL KUMAR HARI PRASAD ‘M’,
(4) VOODI SUMAPRAKASH ‘M’,
(5) DHANUKA SUNIL KUMAR and others now at large on the same date, time and place, and in the aforementioned Judicial Division of this Honorable Court did steal the sum of One Billion, Six Hundred and Twenty Six Million, One Hundred and Thirty Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety Five Naira, Twelve Kobo (N1,626,139,795:12) from Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 390 (a) of the Criminal Code Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.