Police Drag Chinese, 2 Nigerians To Court For Alleged Forgery, N1bn Fraud

The Lagos State Police Command has filed 11-count charge against a 43-year-old Chinese national, Su Donghai alongside two Nigerians, Stanley Okafor and Ogunade Oluwaseun at the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged conspiracy, forgery, fraud to the tune of N1 billion and money laundering.

The charge against the foreigner and the Nigerians, which has been assigned to Justice Akintayo Aluko, also has listed as co-defendants two firms, Wnw Energy Technical Development Limited and Haoti International Limited.

In the 11-count amended charge marked FHC/L/695c/2024, the police, through the office of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (Force CID), alleged that the defendants and others at-large, conspired among themselves to commit the alleged offences between January 2020 and April 2024.

The police also claimed that the defendants fraudulently obtained the sum of N1 billion belonging to CNOTS Energy Services Limited, represented by one Femi Folayan.

Also, the defendants were accused of committing the fraud by forging 89 invoices, intending to fraudulently defraud CNOTS Energy Services Energy Limited.

Specifically, the first defendant, Okafor, was accused of falsely deposing to an affidavit on Oath on February 13, 2024 at the Lagos State High Court Registry, Lagos, wherein he attached 29 invoice receipts of WNW Energy Technical Development Company Limited.

On February 20, 2020, in Lagos, Nigeria, he was also alleged to have falsely presented himself as the Managing Director of CNOTS Energy Technical Development.

For his part, the second defendant, Ogunade, was alleged to have, between 2021 and 2023 in Lagos, while acting as CNOTS Energy Services Nigeria Limited’s Chief Financial Officer, deliberately manipulated the firm’s accounting records, inserting fictitious figures in CNOTS accounting record without any corresponding piece of invoices to validate such entries.

The third defendant, Su Donghai, was also alleged to have, between January 2020 and April 2024, transferred into a bank account number 2065454879 UBA Plc of one Alikali Vivian and retained the sum of N1 billion, belonging to CNOTS Energy Services Limited.

The police alleged that the offences contravened sections 8, 1(3) and 7(2)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.

The prosecution also maintained that the offences are contrary to, and punishable under sections 20(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 Act No. 14. And sections 1(1}(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, CAP. M17 LFN 2004.

The police further stated that the defendants’ alleged illegal actions contravened Sections 390(9), 117, and 484 of the Criminal Code Act, LFN 2004.

However, the scheduled arraignment of all the defendants on Monday was stalled due to the absence of two of the defendants and the prosecutor.

Based on the development, Justice Aluko fixed February 25 for their arraignment.