Oil magnate Azubuike Uzoma has been charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) Port Harcourt Zonal Command for allegedly engaging in illegal petroleum product sales worth N24,310,000 (twenty four million, three hundred and ten thousand naira) before Justice A.T. Mohammed of the Federal High Court located in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
On October 25, 2023, he was charged with three felonies related to money laundering and unlawful petroleum product trade.
One of the count charges reads:
“That you, Azubuike Uzoma (trading under the name & style of ALVIN D INTERNATIONAL), sometimes in June 2022, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, took possession of the aggregate sum of N23,310,000.00 (Twenty Three Million, Three Hundred and Ten Thousand Naira) paid into your account with Keystone Bank Limited, when you reasonably ought to have known that the said fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity, to wit: illegal dealing in petroleum products, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering Act”.
After reading the allegations, he pleaded a not guilty plea.
Prosecution attorney Abdulrahman Abubakar asked the court to set a trial date and remand the defendant to a prison institution in light of his plea. C.J. Nmerem, the defendant’s attorney, asked the court to grant his client bail so that he could get ready for his trial rather than object to the prosecution’s pleas.
The defendant was then granted bail by Justice Mohammed in the amount of N1, 000,000.00 (one million naira), plus an additional amount for each of the two sureties. A minimum of grade level 14 public servant with the Rivers State government must be one of the sureties, and the other surety must be a member of the defendant’s family. The sureties must have valid addresses and submit two recent passport photos to the court.
The matter was postponed by the judge until January 22, 2024, so that the trial could begin.
The investigation against Azubuike began when agents of the Commission detained him in the Ndoni Community of the Onelga Local Government Area of Rivers State on suspicion of money laundering and unlawful petroleum product trade.
According to investigations, the defendant is involved in a fraudulent oil business, having tricked his clients into parting with multiple sums of money in exchange for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) supplies from Warri depot. He didn’t deliver the goods or give the customers their money back.