EFCC Jails Money Laundering Middleman,Four BDC Operators in Lagos

​LAGOS — In a major clampdown on financial crimes, the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced five individuals to varying prison terms for offenses bordering on money laundering and unauthorized foreign exchange operations.

​Presiding Justice Akintayo Aluko delivered the judgments following separate prosecutions brought forward by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

​Money Laundering Conviction

​Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban was sentenced to four years behind bars after pleading guilty to a two-count charge of money laundering.

​Court documents revealed that Sunmonu acted as a middleman in 2023, masking the origins of ₦16 million in illicit proceeds by purchasing a 2018 model black G-Wagon Jeep.

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​Prosecution counsel H. U. Kofarnaisa presented the facts of the case following the defendant’s plea, prompting the court to hand down the four-year sentence with an option of a ₦1.8 million fine. Additionally, Justice Aluko ordered the final forfeiture of the luxury vehicle and the convict’s mobile device to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

​Crackdown on Unauthorized BDC Operators

​In a parallel proceeding, the same court convicted four Bureau de Change (BDC) operators on separate charges related to illegal foreign currency transactions conducted outside authorized official channels.

​The defendants—identified as Umar Muhammad Lamido, Yusuf Musa Yusuf, Abdulmuhimin Mahmud, and Muhammed Musa—entered guilty pleas to separate one-count indictments. Their activities violated provisions of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment Act of 1994.

​Upon reviewing the facts of the cases, Justice Aluko sentenced each of the four operators to 12 months’ imprisonment, with an option to pay a fine of ₦100,000 each.

​The latest rulings underscore the judiciary and anti-graft agency’s intensified efforts to sanitize the nation’s financial corridors, curb unauthorized parallel market operations, and dismantle networks facilitating illicit wealth laundering.