A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday heard how former Petroleum Minister Dan Etete allegedly shared among his associates the $1.3 billion proceeds from the sale of OPL 245 owned by Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd.
An official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Ahmed, gave details of how the proceeds were transferred from JP Morgan into Malabu’s accounts with two banks and subsequently transferred to various companies’ accounts.
Ahmed identified some of the beneficiary companies to include those owned by Abuja businessman, Aliyu Abubakar.
The EFCC official gave the testimonies as a prosecution witness in the trial of Abubakar and seven companies accused of benefiting from the allegedly diverted proceeds of the OPL245 sale.
Other defendants in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/268/2016 are: Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, A. Group Construction Company Ltd, Rocky Top Resources Ltd, Megatech Engineering Ltd, Novel Properties and Development Company Ltd, Imperial Union Ltd and Carlin International Nigeria Ltd.
The witness claimed that some board resolutions were forged to alter the actual ownership of Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd.
Led in evidence by EFCC’s lawyers, Offem Uket, Ahmed said: “Again, in 2010 another purported board resolution was filed in Corporate Affairs Commission by one Bar Ayo Ademola.
“The documents filed by Ademola suggested that the initial directors have resigned their directorship and their shares in which Joseph Amara and Seisougha Munamuna were appointed as directors not minding the changes earlier made.
“When the documents were filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission, having them discovered that those documents were forged, the Corporate Affairs Commission returned the Company to status guo.
“Similarly, the second step was to identify the bank accounts owned by Malabu Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited and the investigating team discovered that Malabu Oil and Gas have two accounts which are domiciliary accounts domiciled at the two banks and the only signatory to the accounts was Chief Duazia Loya Etete.
“After analysis of the statement of account, we discovered that the account of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited domiciled with a bank on the 24th August, 2011 received the sum $400,000,000.00 from the JP Morgan.
“On the 6th day of September 2011, Chief Dan Etete alias Chief Duazua Etete fraudulently, transferred the sum of $334,546,000.00 to Rocky Top Resources account domiciled with the same bank.
“On the 24 day of September, 2013, another sum of $75,000,000.00 were transferred to the same Malabu Oil and Gas Limited account with the bank out of which $74,000,000.00 and some fractions. Same was transferred to the Rocky Top Resources account but only $73,000,000.00 and some fractions got into the account.
“Similarly, on the said 24th August, 2011, another sum of $401,540,000.00 was transferred to Malabu Oil and Gas Limited account with another bank from J. P. Morgan.
“On the 29th August, 2011, Chief Duazia Loya Etete transferred the sum of $157,000,000.00 into the account of A Group Construction Company Limited.
“On the same 29th August, 2011, Chief Etete again transferred the sum of $180,000,000.00 to the Megatech Engineering Ltd.
“On the same 29th August, 2011 the same Chief Etete transferred the sum of $34,540,000.00 to Novel Properties and Development Limited.
“On the 2nd day of September, 201, he transferred another sum of $30,000,000.00 to Novel Property and Development Limited,” he said.
On the account with a first generation bank, he said his team “discovered that A Group Construction received $157,0 00,000.00 from Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, Megatech Engineering received $180,000,000.00 from Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd.
“Furthermore, Novel Property received $34,540,000.00 and also $30,000 000.00 from Malabu Oil and Gas Limited.”
