Justice E. A. Obile of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has convicted and sentenced one Felix Chiwendu to two years imprisonment for illegally operating a Bureau De Change business without requisite licence.
Chiwendu was jailed on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, after pleading “guilty” to one count charge bordering on obtaining under pretences preferred against him by the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The anti-graft agency said that the offence contravenes Section 57 (1) of Banks and other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020 and punishable under Section 57 (5) (b) (i) (ii) & (iii) of the same Act.
Prosecution counsel, E. K. Ebipade prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
Counsel to the defendant, C. S. Nwankwo prayed the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing the defendant.
He also stressed that the defendant was a first- time offender, with no previous criminal record.
Justice Obile convicted and sentenced the defendant to two years in the Correctional Service or N1 million as fine.
He also ordered him to depose to an affidavit of good behaviour before the court.
The EFCC said Chewendu started his journey to the Correctional Centre, when a case of illegal operation of a Bureau De Change business without a requisite licence and obtaining money from his victims under false pretences was reported to the EFCC.
The complainant alleged that, sometime in February 2016, he engaged the services of the convict to remit the sum of $300,000.00, an equivalent of N95.4 million at an exchange rate of N318 per dollar, for the purchase of Aluminum Coil but the convict transferred only $130,650, being the Naira equivalent of N41,546,700 only to their Chinese counterpart, leaving a balance of $169,350, an equivalent of N53,853,300 only.
The EFCC said investigation revealed that the convict did not have any license from any financial authority to carry out banking services.
However, all efforts by the victim to get back his money from the convict proved abortive.