An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abubakar Kweido, on Thursday, said findings in the investigation into the alleged N33.8bn fraud brought against a former power minister, Saleh Mamman, showed that he made multiple monetary transfers from the account meant for Mambilla power project to Bureau de Change operators.
Kweido, who appeared as the first witness in the ongoing trial of the former minister, said 13 entities, who received about N33.8bn from the Mambilla project fund, were not authorised for the power project.
Mamman, who served as a minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2019 to 2021, was on May 10, 2021, arrested and detained at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja over alleged fraud.
On July 11, the EFCC arraigned Mamman on 12 counts bordering on alleged money laundering before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja. He pleaded not guilty.
Testifying against him at Thursday’s proceedings, Kweido told the court: “We commenced the investigation by writing letters of investigation to different ministries and agencies of the government and various commercial banks.
“The responses received revealed that he (Mamman) authorised the payment to some contractors and companies using One Joint Venture of Tractebel and De-Crown Projects Ltd and Sino Hydro Groups.
“De-Crown Projects Ltd was used as a project consultant, and Sino Hydro Groups was the engineering procurement contractor.
“Our investigation revealed that a huge amount of money from the project account of Mambila was sent to different entities that were not authorised on the project.
“We then wrote letters of investigation activities to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for Mambila and Zungeru hydroelectric power plant projects.
When we analysed the responses, we saw that over N33.8bn from the project account were sent to over 13 entities that were not the authorised contact.
“We also requested the bank record of the accounts from corporate affairs and other commercial banks, which revealed that the persons behind the operation of these entities were mainly Maina Goje, Abdulahi Suleiman and Abdulahi Garba.
“We invited them to account for the funds they received from the Mambila project account. They reported to our office where they informed us that they had never applied for any contract with the federal Ministry of Power or the Federal Government.
“They said they were bureau de change operatives. They also mentioned that all the monies received were disbursed based on the instructions of one Mustapha Abubakar Dida.
“The disbursements were usually in foreign currencies, naira cash and sometimes via bank transfers.”
The investigator also said the owners of the BDC entities said they had never met with Dida or Mamman but that they had physical contact with Bawo Idris, a personal assistant to the former minister.
The EFCC witness said when Idris was invited by the agency, she confirmed receiving instructions from the defendant for funds disbursement.
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The case was adjourned till October 9, 2024 for continuation of trial.
