How former Heritage Bank manager laundered N1.6bn – EFCC
The EFCC, on Tuesday, told the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos how Iwejuo Nna Joseph, a suspended Branch Manager of Heritage Bank Plc in Yenogoa, allegedly concealed funds through his son’s account.
Joseph and Dudafa Waripamo-Owei, a former Senior Special Adviser on Domestic Matters to former President Goodluck Jonathan, are facing a 23-count charge of conspiracy to conceal N1.6 billion said to be proceeds of crime.
While cross-examining Joseph before Justice Muhammad Idris, the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, asked him to confirm that he deposited various sums of money including N9.5m to his son’s bank account on January 22, 2014.
Joseph affirmed that the money was sent to his son’s account, which he said he opened shortly after his birth on December 28, 2006.
He also confirmed that he deposited a sum of N5million in his son’s account on February 3, 2014.
When asked where the money came from, Joseph told the court that it must have been from the account of Ebiwise Resources owned by his family.
He said a sum of N9million, for instance, was transferred from his son’s account to the Ebiwise Resources account, which he and his wife jointly operate.
He further stated that his company once got a contract from the Bayelsa State government to construct a Sport Academy building.
“We submitted an application for the job. There were so many buildings and they allocated one to us.
“Our company was paid N41million for the contract by the Bayelsa State government,” he said.
Joseph added that he did not bother to disclose to the bank that he was also a government contractor as he didn’t see it as necessary.
“But my colleagues knew about the family business,” he said.
