Court jails former bank MD for N66.6m fraud

Justice I.B. Gafai of the Federal High Court, Awka, Anambra State has convicted and sentenced former managing director of Achina Microfinance Bank, Aguata, Mr. Jonathan Nnamdi Udemadu to 11 months imprisonment for multiple fraud.
The convict was prosecuted by the Enugu Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on nine-count charges of abuse of office, forgery, issuance of dud cheque and fraudulent conversion of depositors fund to the tune of N66,633,000.00 (Sixty-Six Million, Six Hundred and Thirty-three Thousand Naira).
The complainant, Achina Microfinance Bank had petitioned the EFCC, alleging that the defendant, being its former managing director, granted N15 million (Fifteen Million Naira) unauthorised credit facility to Rommex Telecommunications Limited and also did the same to Noble Mike International Ltd, to the tune of N3 million (Three Million Naira), and standing as their guarantor, without collateral.
In the course of the trial, prosecution counsel, Michael Ani, called three witnesses and tendered 21 exhibits to prove the charges against the defendant.
He was convicted on all the nine counts with one month prison sentence on counts one to seven and two months each on counts eight and nine, which are to run concurrently starting from Thursday, July 23, 2020 date of conviction.
Apart from the prison term, Justice Gafai ordered the convict to restitute Achina Microfinance Bank Ltd the sums of money contained in the charge in line with Section 321(a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice, Act 2015.