Alleged Money Laundering: Court Grants Former Skye Bank Chairman, MD N500m bail Each

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Justice Valentine Ashi of an Abuja High Court sitting in Apo on Wednesday granted bail to a former Chairman, Board of Directors and Managing Director of the defunct Skye Bank PLC , Tunde Ayeni, and Timothy Oguntayo in the sum of N500m each.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had slammed a four count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N456.6bn on both Ayeni and Oguntayo.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge, following which their counsel,Ahmed Raji SAN and E.O Akoni SAN respectively applied for their bail.

Delivering ruling on the bail application, Justice Ashi, who held that bail is at the discretion of the court and that the offences with which the defendants were charged are bailable, admitted the defendants to bail and ordered them to produce two sureties in like sum.

The judge said the sureties must be resident in Abuja or has a landed property in Abuja.

He further ordered that the defendants be released to their lawyers pending when they will perfect their bail application.

He later adjourned the case until May 14 for trial.

The prosecution in the charge, alleged that the defendants committed the offence between Jan.1, 2014 and Dec. 31,2016.

The anti graft agency further alleged that the defendants being bankers, entrusted with depositors funds, conspired and criminally breached the trust in the aforementioned sum.

The prosecution also alleged that in 2014, while being bankers, entrusted with property and depositors funds in the defunct Skye Bank plc suspense account committed criminal breach of trust to the aggregate sum of N456,. 6bn.

The offence, he added, contravened the provisions of section 96,97 and 315 of the Penal Code Law.