Banker jailed seven and half years, forfeits properties over N8bn currency mutilation (photo)

Justice Emmanuel Ayo Nathaniel of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 convicted and sentenced one Tope Akintade, a former staff of Ecobank, Ibadan branch to two and half years imprisonment on each of the three counts of stealing and conspiracy pressed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Akintade was convicted over his complicity in the infamous CBN currency mutilation to the tune of N8billion. The convict is also to forfeit a Shopping Plaza and another property located in Ibadan which he allegedly acquired with millions of naira, an amount far beyond his remuneration as a banker. One of the counts that sent Akintade to prison reads
“That you, Tope Akintade between 2010 and May 2011 in Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspired with Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Muniru Adeola, Toogun Kayode Phillips and John Paul to convert the sum of N490,000,000.00 million (Four Hundred and Ninety Million Naira) only which sum was illegally derived from Central Bank of Nigeria, to wit: by inducing the central Bank of Nigeria to deliver the said sum to EcoBank Plc as against the actual sum of N79,789,900.00million (Seventy Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Eighty Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred Naira) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and punishable under Section 14 (1) (a) of the same Act.”It would be recalled that, in the course of prosecution, one of the defendants, Ademola Oni, a former staff of Wema Bank opted for plea bargain and was consequently sentenced to twelve years imprisonment by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. Trial of other defendants in the matter continues February 13, 2017.