How $12m was swapped in 10 days in SunTrust Bank -EFCC witness tells court

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How $12m was swapped in 10 days in SunTrust Bank -EFCC witness tells court
(R-L) Halima Buba and Innocent Mbagwu

How $12m was swapped in 10 days in SunTrust Bank -EFCC witness tells court

A witness for Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has testified that Aisha Achimugu, a businesswoman, sought to convert $12 million into cash via SunTrust Bank to fund the purchase of an oil block.

The witness, Suleiman Ciroma, appeared on Thursday before the federal high court in Abuja in the ongoing trial of Halima Buba, the managing director of SunTrust Bank, and Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s executive director and chief compliance officer.

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Ciroma, a businessman and former bureau de change operator, told the court that the entire $12 million was paid out in cash between March 10 and March 20, 2025, across SunTrust Bank branches in Abuja and Lagos.

He submitted documents detailing the disbursements and testified that the funds were eventually credited in tranches to the Zenith Bank account of Oceangate Energy Oil & Gas, a company he said is owned by Achimugu. According to him, the deal earned him a profit of N15 million.

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He explained that Achimugu reached out to him to arrange the forex transaction. After confirming the arrangement with Buba, the SunTrust MD, he was contacted by a staff member named Iliya from the bank’s Abuja branch, informing him that $1 million was ready for pickup.

Ciroma said he then dispatched his associates Tijjani Adamu, Abdulkadir Mohammed, and a man named Kabiru—who collected $1 million, $1 million, and $2 million respectively in cash. The remaining funds were also distributed in similar fashion.

 Under cross-examination, Ciroma said Buba coordinated the Abuja disbursements, while Mbagwu handled operations in Lagos.

WhatsApp chats between him and Buba were also tendered as evidence and admitted by the court despite objections from defence lawyers Johnson Usman and M.S. Ibrahim, who reserved their arguments for the final address. Justice Emeka Nwite marked the documents as exhibit P1 and adjourned the trial to July 18.

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The EFCC is prosecuting Buba and Mbagwu on six counts related to money laundering involving $12 million, alleging that the executives facilitated illegal cash movements in violation of anti-money laundering regulations. Both have pleaded not guilty and were granted bail.

The trial stems from a wider investigation launched by the EFCC earlier this year. In April, the agency ordered SunTrust Bank to transfer over ₦11 billion from an account belonging to Felak Concept Group Ltd.—a company linked to Achimugu—to an EFCC recovery account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The bank requested a valid court order before making the transfer but none was provided. The EFCC allegedly disrupted operations at SunTrust branches and detained Buba until the money was moved under what insiders described as “coercion and threat.”

Multiple legal battles have since followed. Achimugu has sued the EFCC over what she describes as harassment and intimidation related to lawful transactions. Felak Concept Group has also filed a separate suit challenging the legality of the ₦11 billion debit and seeking a refund.

Although the bank executives have withdrawn their fundamental rights suit, cases filed by Achimugu and Felak are still pending, with hearings set for July 17 and 25.

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