For failing to appear before the Federal High Court in Lagos for their arraignment over an alleged N3 billion fraud, Justice Yelim Bogoro has issued a bench warrant on two directors of Elixir Asset Management Limited.
Justice Yelim issued the criminal sermon on the directors, Clara Bittinger Mshelia-Whyte and Sarah Ogbemudia, after the prosecutor from the office of attorney-general, Moshood Adeyemi, made an application to that effect.
The federal government had charged Mshelia-Whyte and Ogbemudia before the court alongside their companies, Elixir Asset Management Limited and Elixir Investment Partners Limited, over allegations of promoting an unregistered market product, the Elixir Treasury and offering the same to the investing public.
In a four-count charge brought against the defendants, the federal government accused them of offering for subscription an unregistered product, ‘Elixir Treasury Product’ valued at over N3 billion to the investing public, including Toyota Nigeria Limited, Kaduna Industrial and Finance Company and others.
The prosecution also accused the defendants of committing a felony to wit: with the common intent conspired among themselves together with Samuel Aikhonbare, Christopher Edordu and their other staff, to do an illegal act by luring the investing public, including Toyota Nigeria Limited and others by offering them an unregistered product called ‘Elixir Treasury Product’ and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of Criminal Code Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The defendants are also alleged to have conspired among themselves to do an illegal Act- diversion of Investment funds belonging to the investing public, including Toyota Nigeria Limited, Kaduna Industrial and Finance Company and others and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of Criminal Code Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
“That you, Elixir Investment Partners Ltd and Clara-Bittinger Mshelia-Whyte, both of No. 95 Medical Guild Close, V/I Lagos, on or between the year 2019 and 2021 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did commit a felony to wit: diversion of investment funds to the tune of N3,213,700,150 belonging to the investing public including Toyota Nigeria Limited, Kaduna Industrial and Finance Company and others. You thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 383 (2) (f) of Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under Section 390 (7) of the same Act,” The Charge stated.
The defendants were first charged before the court on March 10, 2023, but they allegedly failed to appear for the hearing on March 10, 2023.
The development made the judge adjourn the matter yesterday; again, the defendants failed to appear, prompting Justice Bogoro to issue a criminal sermon against the defendants.
The judge held, “The court will grant the prosecution’s request and issue a criminal summons to be served on the defendant for arraignment. I, at this moment, adjourned this matter to July 11 for the arraignment of the defendants.
