By TAIYE AGBAJE

A prosecution witness, Hassan Dantani, on Friday contradicted himself in the ongoing trial of the Managing Director (MD), SunTrust Bank Ltd, Halima Buba, and her co-defendant, Innocent Mbagwu.

Dantani, a witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is the the MD of Ashrab Corporate Forex and BDC Ltd.

He had earlier testified that in the statement he made at the EFCC’s office, he did informed and wrote that his BDC’s licence was revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2024.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the issue in contention was that as at the time the transaction of the $12 million was done by Buba and Mbagwu, the Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank, the licence of the BDC company used had been revoked by the CBN.

However, while being cross examined by Buba’s lawyer, Johnson Usman, SAN, on Friday on his statement, which the court had admitted as Exhibit D1, Dantani admitted he did not state it in the statement.

Dantani, who is the 3rd prosecution witness (PW-3) in the case, also confirmed to court that he is a member of BDC Traders Association, Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja.

“In the course of the investigation in the case, you made a statement to EFCC. In making the statement, did you tell EFCC that your BDC licence was revoked?” the lawyer asked and the witness said: “Yes, I did.”

Usman then called for Exhibit D1, which is Dantani’s statement.

“Look at Page 48 to 52 of Exhibit D1, is that your statement?” he asked and Dantani responded in the affirmative.

The lawyer then asked the witness to read out the statement which he wrote on May 9, 2025, especially where he said his BDC licence was revoked in 2024 by CBN, to the court’s hearing.

However, after a thorough check of his statement, Dantani said: “I did not see it.”

“Therefore, I will be correct to say you did not state so at EFCC based on Exhibit D1, that your licence has been revoked?” the lawyer asked, and the withess admitted.

The PW-3 also admitted that his company, Ashrab Corporate Forex and BDC Ltd, is still operational and had not been wound up at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

The witness told the court that he did not have any dealing or transaction with Buba and Mbagwu.

He said Suleiman Ciroma, who testified in the case as PW-1, is a BDC operator and a colleague in the business.

The lawyer then asked: “As at the time you sent people to collect USD from SunTrust Bank, did you tell the people that when you go to collect the money, they should tell the person given the money that your BDC licence had been revoked?”

The witness, who admitted that he did not tell those who went to collect the money, said though as at that time, his licence was revoked, he had already reapplied in 2025 and it was still under processing, and that his “deposit of N500 million is still with CBN till today.”

Dantani told the court that neither Buba nor Mbagwu is signatory to any of his companies’ accounts either corporate or personal.

He told the court that he received the sum of 9.947 million dollars by the order of Suleiman Ciroma and that all the monies were paid into his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Ltd.

He said the money was received in dollars while $7 million was collected in cash.

Dantani told the court that the whole money was transferred to Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd, which is owned by the businesswoman, Aisha Achumugu.

He said the money was transferred from Ashrab Energy to Oceangate.

According to him, the decision to transfer the money from Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Ltd was my personal decision.

He said in the transaction, he made a profit of N9.8 million.

While also being cross examined by Mbagwu’s counsel, Mustapha Ibrahim, SAN, the witness also confirmed Exhibit D1 as his statement.

Dantani said the transaction leading to the case took place in March 2025.

He said he could not recall making any other statement at the EFCC’s office apart from Exhibit D1.

The witness also admitted that in the statement he made, he did not mention that he told Ciroma, his colleague, that his BDC licence was revoked.

“Confirm that during the entire transaction, you never physically went to SunTrust Bank office either in Lagos or Abuja to receive US dollars,” the lawyer asked and Dantani responded in affirmative.

The PW-3 agreed that to the best of his knowledge, he complied with CBN’s guidelines, the regulatory agency of the business.

The witness, who agreed that Ciroma was not standing trial in respect of the instant transaction, also told the court that he was not standing trial in any court regarding the transaction either.

Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until April 30 for continuation of trial.

NAN reports that Buba and Mbagwu are being prosecuted on money laundering offences to the tune of $12 million.

The duo, in a six-count charge, was alleged to have aided high-value cash transactions without routing them through a financial institution.

The offence is said to be contrary to Section 21(a), 2(1), and 9(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.

The defendants were, on June 13, arraigned by the anti-graft agency.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the counts, and admitted to a N100 million bail with one surety, each in like sum. (NAN)

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