Audu defrauded people through his unlicensed operations
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, arraigned a ‘Wonder Bank’ operator, Moses Audu, before Justice Mohammed Shuaibu of the Federal High court, Kaduna, on a one-count-charge bordering on fraudulent operation without licence and obtaining under false pretence.
Audu, charged alongside his company, Miriam Moses Ventures Limited, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Consequently, the defence counsel, Usman Ahmed, informed the court that he had earlier submitted an application for bail before it, a claim which Shuaibu quickly refuted.
The prosecuting counsel, Jijah Bwala disclosed that she was served with a motion for bail application inside the courtroom and that she informed the defence counsel that she wouldneed time to respond to the motion.
While adjourning the case to May 17, 2012, Shuaibu urged the prosecution to line up its witnesses as the trial will commence on that day after hearing of the bail application.
Audu’s arrest followed a petition to the EFCC dated June 16, 2010, from A. Agbola of Cheakley Chambers, on behalf of one Miriam Rotman (nee Garcia Jurado), a citizen and resident of Netherlands.
The petitioner copied the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the fraudulent activities of Audu, who incorporated a wonder bank for the purpose of defrauding unsuspecting Nigerians and Rotman, who was unwittingly made a director.
“To our client’s chagrin, she discovered that Audu had incorporated a business in Nigeria known as Miriam Moses Ventures (an amalgam of our client’s name and that of Mr. Audu), with our client’s name boldly listed as a Director and wife of Mr. Audu,” the petitioner said.
Agbola said that he had his client’s instruction to inform the EFCC that “Mrs. Rotman is not a partner, director or staff of Miriam Moses Ventures in any form whatsoever and she does not have and has never been involved in foreign exchange trading on behalf of the accused.”
Some documents also circulated by Audu, entitled “Plan”, promised 100% return on any money invested in his business every 22 working days. The promise had lured many Nigerians to give their money to Moses Audu/Moses Ventures.
M. Adegbite, Chairman, Implementation Sub-Committee of the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Fund Managers/Wonder Banks’, on July 20, 2010 also wrote the EFCC on the activities of the Moses Ventures.
