The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ikoyi, has arraigned two senior officials of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited over an alleged fraud involving $306,667.81 and €50,250.
The defendants, Bakare Oladimeji Surajudeen and James Olukayode Imokwede, were docked on Tuesday before Justice Ismaila Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on a 10-count charge bordering on alleged stealing and retention of stolen property.
According to the anti-graft agency, an internal audit by the bank uncovered unauthorised debits totalling $306,667.81 and €50,250 — equivalent to N527,406,916.66 — from its Letters of Credit (LC) payable accounts.
EFCC investigations reportedly revealed that the defendants processed fraudulent transfers through the SWIFT platform to third parties.
One of the charges alleges that the defendants, sometime in 2021 in Lagos, dishonestly took N527,406,916.66 belonging to FSDH Merchant Bank Limited. Another count accuses them of dishonestly taking $306,667.81, also property of the bank.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Following their pleas, prosecution counsel H. U. Kofarnaisa asked the court to fix a trial date and sought their remand in a correctional facility pending trial.
Counsel to the first and second defendants, Oluwaseun Akintunde and Olajide S. Onasanya, informed the court that bail applications had been filed and urged the court to grant bail on liberal terms. They also requested that the defendants be remanded in EFCC custody pending the perfection of their bail conditions.
The prosecution opposed the request for EFCC custody, arguing that the commission’s detention facilities were overstretched.
In his ruling, Justice Ijelu granted each defendant bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum. The court directed that one of the sureties must be a gainfully employed relative. The sureties are to provide evidence of tax payment for the last three years, proof of livelihood, and have their residences verified.
The court also ordered the defendants to deposit their international passports and barred them from travelling outside the country without prior approval.
They were subsequently remanded in a correctional facility pending the perfection of their bail conditions.
The matter was adjourned till March 25, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
