EFCC to Arraign Oronsaye Over Fresh N190m Alleged Fraud Tomorrow

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will, tomorrow, arraign a former  Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoS),  Stephen Oronsaye, before High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on fresh two counts of corruption and obtaining on false pretence.


He will be arraigned on the fresh charges following EFCC’S completion of investigation on evidence that Oronsaye allegedly abused his position as chair of the Presidential Committee on the Financial Action Task Force, to fraudulently obtain a total sum of N190 million, being part of the N240 million grant the committee received from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The grant, investigation revealed, was allegedly paid into an account in Access Bank operated by Oronsaye, without the knowledge of other committee members and he proceeded to invest the funds for personal gains.

The charge read: “Stephen Oronsaye, a.k.a. Mr Steve Oronsaye, on or about 12th June, 2013, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the  Federal Capital Territory, whilst being the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force and in such capacity, entrusted with certain property, to wit: the sum of N90 million committed  Breach of Trust in respect of the said sum by converting it to your personal use through the investment of the said sum of N90 million in Access Bank Plc’s Bankers Acceptance for a tenure of 90 days at 9.0 per cent  interest rate, in violation of the extant financial regulations.

“Stephen Oronsaye, a.k.a. Mr Steve Oronsaye, on or about 30th December,  2014, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the  Federal Capital Territory, whilst being  chairman of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force and in such capacity, entrusted with certain property, to wit: the sum of N100 million committed Breach of Trust in respect of the said sum, by converting it to your personal use through the investment of the said sum in Access Bank Plc’s Bankers Acceptance for a tenure of 90 days at 12.0 per cent interest rate each  in violation of the extant financial regulations.”

This new charge is different in all material particular from the existing charge for which Oronsaye,  Osarenkhoe Afe, and their accomplices are being prosecuted before the Federal High court, Abuja, on 35-count of fraud and money laundering involving N2 billion.

In this charge, Oronsaye and his co-accused, are alleged to have been complicit in several contract awards during his tenure as HoS, using two companies – Federick Hamilton Global Services Limited and Xangee Technologies Limited, for shady biometrics enrolment deals to the tune of N2 billion.

In one of the counts in the amended charge, dated November 2, 2015, Oronsaye was alleged to have, in connivance with Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina (now at large), Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited, in July 2010, “in disguising genuine nature of the sum of N161,472,000 derived from an illegal act to wit conducting procurement fraud by means of fraudulent and corrupt act on the contract extension of biometric enrolment purportedly awarded to Innovative Solutions Limited by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, without following due process, an offence punishable under Section 14 (1) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.”

Cluster Logistic Limited and Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited were also alleged to have connived with Maina (alias Abdullahi A. Faizal now at large), in February 2014, to “transfer the sum of N33,800,000 to West Waves Bureau De Change from the account of Cluster Logistic Limited maintained by Maina.”

The case before the Federal High Court, it was gathered, had no bearing on the new information filed before Justice O. O Goodluck of the Federal Capital Territory High Court.