More Cash Found In Chief Justice Of Nigeria’s Accounts

Detectives may have found more “suspicious” funds in Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen’s accounts, TheNation reports.

There are also “suspicious” transactions, including an $800,000 Standard Chartered Bank investment subscription, the report said.

Also found is $630,000 lodged in some of the accounts through what is described as “structured payments” in tranches of $10,000 each.

Most of the lodgments, effected between 2012 and 2016, were undeclared in Justice Onnoghen’s assets declaration form, sources claimed.

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has restricted the operation of five accounts with about $3million.

Detectives believe that most of the lodgments and transactions are “suspicious”. An intelligence report on the CJN’s accounts reads in part: “Pattern of structured payments of $10,000 each in 2012.

For example, a total of $630,000 was credited to the accounts using this pattern. Similarly structured payments of $10,000 amounting to $297,800, $50,000 and $36,000 were deposited in the account in 2013, 2015 and 2016 respectively.

There was also a credit of $121,116 into the account from 2014 to 2016 from Life Friend Plc. The payments were in four installments, of $30,279 each. These payments suggest the suspect has investments.

A payment at $482,966 from Alicia Redemption Pro and shortly after, $800,000 was invested in SCB Investment subscription. We are in the process of verifying these transactions;

Other suspicious transactions in the account are the credit of $19,764 from Pur of Noble and seven payments of $3,250, each amounting to $22,750 from Lloyds TSB.

On the pound sterling (GBP), the investigative team discovered “a self- transfer of £40,268 into the account on May 31, 2016.”

There were also self-deposits by the suspect of £49,760 from July 2015 to September 2016, but the balance as at September 30, 2016, was £108,348.”

All the transactions are being investigated whether or not they violated the “Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”