Thursday, August 6, 2015

EFCC identifies owner of $2.1m seized cash

Ibiteye after his arrest...on July 3 / •The
cash said to have been found on Ibiteye
Ex-federal agency chief may be declared
wanted
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission(EFCC) yesterday said it had
traced about $2.1million (N413million) seized
at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos to
a former Executive Secretary of a federal
parastatal.
The commission said it might be forced to
declare the man wanted if he does not show
up for questioning.
The agency said all attempts to locate the
man in Lagos and Abuja proved futile.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
(NDLEA) on July 3 arrested a bureau de
change operator, Mr. Ibiteye John Bamidele, at
MMA Terminal 2 (MMA2) Lagos with the cash.
The Head of Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mitchel
Ofoyeju, said Bamidele was arrested by anti-
narcotic officials, who suspected that the cash
was to be laundered.
The NDLEA handed over the suspect to the
EFCC on July 8, following his confession that
he was on money laundering errand for the
ex-official.
It was, however, learnt that all attempts by
the EFCC to interrogate the suspect had failed.
A top source in the agency said: “The EFCC
has finalised a plan to declare the former
parastatal’s chief wanted, over a $2.1million
money laundering case.
“The anti-graft agency has been on his trail
for weeks, since a certain Ibiteye John
Bamidele named him as the owner of a
$2,198,900 haul, recovered from him by men
of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,
NDLEA.
“Ibiteye was arrested on July 3, 2015 at the
Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos by the
NDLEA and handed over to the EFCC on July
8, for further investigation.
“The suspect, upon interrogation, named as
the owner of the money, but all efforts to
locate him both in Lagos and his known
address in Abuja proved futile.”
The Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr.
Wilson Uwujaren, said: “We have plans to
declare the man wanted. We urge anyone with
information on his whereabouts to contact the
Commission or the nearest police station.”

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