$12 Million Fraud: Witness Says SunTrust Bank Facilitated Undocumented Cash Swap For Achimugu

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, July 18, 2025, heard damning testimony in the trial of Halima Buba, Managing Director of SunTrust Bank, and Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Chief Compliance Officer, over an alleged $12 million money laundering scheme involving high-profile oil and gas executive, Aisha Achimugu.

Testifying before Justice Emeka Nwite, the first prosecution witness (PW1), a bureau de change operator, revealed he personally received the entire $12 million in cash with the knowledge and involvement of the defendants. The funds, he stated, were meant for transfer into Achimugu’s bank accounts, which are domiciled with Zenith Bank Plc.

Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness detailed how the transactions were carried out between March 10 and 24, 2025. According to him, the large sums were handed to him in cash at both the Abuja and Lagos branches of SunTrust Bank. He clarified that despite having both naira and dollar accounts with SunTrust, “none of the money went through my account.”

The witness further recounted that he first became aware of Aisha Achimugu’s arrest through social media and immediately forwarded the news to the first defendant. He also disclosed that Achimugu had previously handed him $1.8 million in tranches, also for naira conversion.

“I received the $12 million in cash. It didn’t pass through any account,” he told the court.

However, attempts by the defence, led by Senior Advocate Johnson Usman, to counter the testimony with documentary evidence were unsuccessful. Usman sought to tender a bundle of documents—including charge sheets, extra-judicial statements of the accused and witnesses, and correspondences between SunTrust Bank and the EFCC—but faced stiff resistance from the prosecution.

Prosecuting counsel Oyedepo objected to the admissibility of the documents, citing failure to present certified true copies in line with the provisions of the Evidence Act. He argued that many of the documents originated from the EFCC and could only be properly certified by Commission officials.

“My lord, documents from pages 10 to 12 require EFCC certification,” Oyedepo explained. “Pages 13 to 31 are SunTrust Bank’s letters to EFCC, and only EFCC officers who received the originals can certify them. From pages 32 to 83 are extra-judicial statements of the defendants and other witnesses, which can only be admitted under Section 232 of the Evidence Act.”

He further pointed out that the documents lacked critical certification details—such as the name and designation of the certifying officer, as well as proof of payment of certification fees—thereby rendering them inadmissible.

“My lord, what the defence intends to do is turn the court into a forensic lab. I urge the court to reject the documents,” he submitted.

Following the legal back-and-forth, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to October 16 and 17, 2025, for a ruling on the admissibility of the documents and continuation of cross-examination.

The EFCC is prosecuting Halima Buba and Innocent Mbagwu on a six-count charge of money laundering to the tune of $12 million. The trial is part of the Commission’s broader crackdown on financial crimes in Nigeria’s banking sector, with this case shining a spotlight on alleged insider collusion and the laundering of large volumes of cash outside formal banking systems.