Banking In Crisis: EFCC Uncovers $12M Fraud, Arraigns Senior Executives

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday arraigned the Managing Director/CEO of SunTrust Bank Ltd, Halima Buba, and the Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer, Innocent Mbagwu, before Justice Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The two bank executives are facing a six-count charge bordering on money laundering involving $12 million. According to the EFCC, the alleged offences include facilitating large cash transactions outside regulated financial institutions, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

One of the charges alleges that on March 10, 2025, Buba and Mbagwu aided Femi Gbamgboye in making a cash payment of $3 million to Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma and associates, bypassing financial institutions. Another charge accuses them of conspiring to make a similar $3 million cash payment on March 13, 2025, in Lagos, to Mukhtar Miko, an associate of Chiroma, without routing the transaction through any bank.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to all six charges. EFCC’s lead counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), expressed readiness to proceed with trial and requested an accelerated hearing.

In response, the defence counsel, J.J. Usman (SAN), referenced existing bail applications dated May 27, 2025, and urged the court to grant the defendants bail based on those submissions.

However, Oyedepo challenged the validity of the bail applications, arguing they were incompetent since the defendants had not been arrested or arraigned when the applications were filed. He urged the court to disregard them and requested fresh bail applications be submitted in open court.

Despite the objections, Justice Nwite granted each defendant bail in the sum of ₦100 million, with one surety each in the same amount. The sureties must own landed property within Abuja and submit relevant documentation, including property details, international passports, and two passport photographs. All information must be verified before bail is finalized.

Until they meet the bail conditions, the court ordered that both defendants be remanded in a correctional facility. The case was adjourned to July 17 and 18, 2025, for continuation of trial.

This arraignment marks a major step in EFCC’s drive to curb corporate financial crimes involving top bank officials.