Plateau Bishop and Bank MD defrauded 64,000 people of N11.5bn (Details)

A Managing Director of a Plateau State based Microfinance bank and a Bishop in the state have been slammed with charges of fraud at a Justice Musa Kurya led court.

The Dadin Kowa Microfinance Bank Limited Managing Director, Irmiya Jatau and Bishop Jonas Katung, the Bishop of Maranatha Church have been slammed with 24 counts of fraud by the EFCC.

The cleric and banker were on Wednesday, arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, before the Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State.

The pair were remanded in prison for defrauding depositors of their hard earned money amounting to over N11.5bn.

Also charged before Justice Musa Kurya was Okewole Dayo and Dadin Kowa Microfinance Bank Limited.

According to the EFCC, the defendants conspired to defraud over 64,000 customers of the defunct Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society to the tune of N11.5 bn.

The EFCC alleged that sometime in 2012, they “did conspire with yourselves to commit money laundering contrary to Section 18 (a )of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, as amended by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”

They were also accused of transferring N50m from Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society account to a First Bank account, with number 2003050001625, into the Dadin Kowa Microfinance, First Bank account Number-2016452671.

The transfer of the N50m represented proceeds of unlawful acts and amounted to an offence contrary to Section 15 (25) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended by the Money Laundering amendment (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 54 of the same Act, among others.

The accused persons however, pleaded not guilty to the charges, except Bishop Katung, who pleaded guilty to one of the counts, only to subsequently change his mind and pleaded not guilty like his