- ₦16m Money Laundering: Court Gives Convict ₦1.8m Fine Option
- EFCC accused Thaoban of disguising illicit funds through a G Wagon purchase.
- Court orders forfeiture of the convict’s G Wagon and mobile phone.
The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban to four years in prison for money laundering involving ₦16 million.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Justice Akintayo Aluko handed down the sentence on Thursday after Thaoban pleaded guilty to a two count charge filed against him by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The court, however, gave the convict an option of paying a ₦1.8 million fine.
The EFCC accused Thaoban of acting as a middleman and disguising the source of ₦16 million allegedly obtained from unlawful activities.
According to one of the charges, the defendant converted the funds into a black 2018 G Wagon Jeep with chassis number 1C4HJWEGJL893461.
The offence was said to contravene Section 18(2)(a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The charge read in part, “That you, Sunmonu Thaoban Olasunkanmi, sometime in 2023, in Lagos and within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst acting as a middleman, indirectly disguised the origin of the sum of ₦16,000,000, being illicit gains accrued from your unlawful act, by converting same to a black G-Wagon Jeep, 2018 model.”
Following the defendant’s guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, H. U. Kofarnaisa, reviewed the facts of the case and urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
Justice Aluko subsequently found Thaoban guilty on both counts.
In addition to the prison sentence, the judge ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s black G Wagon and mobile phone to the Federal Government.
The court described the forfeited items as proceeds and instruments connected to the offence.
