EFCC Operative Details Businessman’s Alleged $75,000 Fraud

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operative, Felicia Paul, on Monday narrated to a Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja how a businessman, Peter Otomewu, allegedly defrauded a petroleum services company, Virgin Forest Energy Limited, of $75,000.

The witness told the trial judge, Justice Mojisola Dada, that the defendant obtained the money under false pretences by claiming he had a vessel, ‘MT AYSU’, capable of transshipping petroleum products from a mother vessel.

The EFCC had arraigned Otomewu and his company, Pebeto Enerji Limited, before Justice Dada on June 24, 2025, on two counts of obtaining money by false pretences and stealing.

The anti-graft agency’s prosecutor, Spiff Owede, told the court that Otomewu and his firm committed the alleged offences sometime in 2018.

The prosecutor alleged that the representations were false and that the money was never used for the stated purpose.

Otomewu and his firm were accused of dishonestly converting the entire $75,000 property of Virgin Forest Energy Limited for their own use.

According to the EFCC, the offences contravened Sections 278, 278(1), and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and Section 1(1)(a) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

However, both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In her testimony, Paul told the court that the first defendant presented himself to the complainant as the owner of a vessel named M T AYSU, which was supposed to transit petrol products from another mother vessel.

She claimed that, based on this information, the complainant paid the defendant $75,000 in two instalments to help it move some petroleum products.

Paul also testified that “the agreed total amount for the project was $100,000. He received $50,000 in cash and an additional $25,000.”

“The defendant issued receipts for these payments but failed to complete the work. Consequently, the complainant asked for refunds. The defendant repaid $25,000, leaving an unpaid balance of $50,000,” the witness stated.

She further told the judge that during the course of EFCC’s investigation, it was discovered that the defendant company is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), not with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the sector’s regulator.

The EFCC investigator also stated that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) confirmed that the vessel is not registered in Nigeria and is not authorised to operate in Nigerian waters.

The witness added that further inquiries revealed that a different vessel with a similar name is registered under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Justice Dada has adjourned the matter to 20 April for the continuation of the trial.