Asset Declaration: American Company Owns Foreign Accounts, Not Saraki, Witness Insists

Alex Enumah in Abuja
Amazu Nwachukwu, the second prosecution witness, in the ongoing trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, over alleged false assets declaration yesterday insisted that the foreign bank accounts being linked to Saraki actually belonged to the American Express Services Limited and not the senate president.

According to the witness, the disputed foreign accounts belonged to the operators of a credit card used by Saraki for a transaction.

The witness made the declaration during re-examination by the lead prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), who wanted to make clarifications on evidence of the witness in his evidence in-chief and cross-examination on the alleged foreign bank account being linked to Saraki.

Nwachukwu said: “I have made it clear that I never worked with the Fortis Bank of London, I do not know how they number their customers’ accounts and I do not have any knowledge of any foreign account belonging to Saraki.
“I do not have any account with Fortis Bank, I never have any contact with the bank in relation to the defendant, I do not know how bank accounts are opened at the bank, I can only speak for my own bank.”

The witness insisted that the only fund transfer form sent from Ilorin branch of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) to his foreign fund transfer unit at GTBank in Lagos, got burnt along with computers and other documents in 2011 and that he was not even at the unit in 2010 when the said fund transfer to American Express Service Limited was made by Saraki.

“In the transaction, the defendant (Saraki) made with my bank, in 2010, the beneficiary of the transaction is American Express Services, I can see the name of the beneficiary clearly and the bank account of the beneficiary based on the document given to me by the prosecution,” he maintained.

During cross-examination by Saraki’s counsel, Paul Usoro (SAN) on Tuesday, the witness had admitted that there was no evidence linking the said accounts to Saraki. Also during cross examination yesterday, when asked by the defendant to explain why he could not confirm the identities of the accounts, Nwachukwu said the documents confirming the transfer of funds were destroyed in an inferno, and that he did not see them prior to that time.

Also, when asked how he got the documents his bank sent to the EFCC, the witness said he was not the “officer responsible for the documents that were forwarded to EFCC,” and that he has “no knowledge of that.”

On Tuesday, while being led in evidence by Jacobs, the witness had told the court how the Senate President transferred funds to his alleged foreign accounts between 2009 and 2012.
The witness confirmed that Saraki was keeping dollar, pounds sterling and naira accounts domiciled in the Ilorin branch of GTBank.

According to him, Saraki transferred over $3million from his dollar account to his foreign account during the period.
The trial was adjourned till February 8 and 9.