'Desilting' NDDC contractors lose ₦827.6m as court rules in EFCC favour

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the final forfeiture of N827, 679,098.32 from Flank Power Resources Limited and GMFD Ventures Limited, both of whom are firms linked to contractors with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, ordered the forfeiture.

The forfeiture followed an affidavit deposed to by an EFCC investigator in which the Commission prayed the court for the forfeiture of the sum to the Federal Government of Nigeria, being proceeds of unlawful activity, traced to some contractors’ accounts with Zenith Bank.

A breakdown of the recovery shows that N616, 679, 098.32 was recovered from Flank Power Resources Limited, while N211 million was recovered from GMFD Ventures Limited.

The EFCC said it discovered that between 2018 and 2019, Flank Power Resources Limited received the funds from the NDDC, through its account number:1015642852 , while GMFD received through account number: 1014657819 both of which are domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc for desilting contracts which aside being inflated, were not executed, but diverted and laundered.

The sum of N616, 679, 098.32 recovered from Flank Power Resources Limited was facilitated through 62 Zenith Bank drafts in favour of the EFCC Recovered Funds Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, while the N211million from GMFD came through 22 Zenith Bank drafts in favour of the same account.

EFCC had earlier secured the interim forfeiture of the money on June 8, 2020.