Alleged $1.4m Fraud: Court reserves ruling on defendant’s bail application till March 21
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, reserved ruling on the bail application filed by one Kolawole Adedayo Erinle till March 21, 2022.
Erinle, was arraigned alongside his firm, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, on March 11, 2022 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on an amended three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, and obtaining money under false pretence to the tune of $1,410,000 (One Million Four-Hundred and Ten Thousand United States Dollars).
The defendant is alleged to have defrauded the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB) in the United States of about $1,412,509 USD.
One of the charges reads: “Kolawole Adedayo Erinle and Edward Dada (still at large), sometime in 2019, at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired to falsely represent yourselves as J.E. Dunn, a local construction company in America, with intent to gain monetary advantage in the sum of $1,410,000 (One Million Four-Hundred and Ten Thousand United States Dollars) by creating a fake domain name jedunn.org and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act No 14, 2006.”
Another count reads: “Kolawole Adedayo Erinle, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited and Edward Dada (still at large) on or about the 3rd day of May 2019, at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, retain the control of $1,410,000 (One Million Four-Hundred and Ten Thousand United States Dollars) in your Access Bank account, which sum you knew to be proceeds of various internet and cybercrime.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when it was read to him.
At today’s sitting, the defence counsel, Olayinka Farounbi, moved the bail application of his client.
While praying the Court to grant his client bail “on the most liberal terms”, he noted that “the main purpose of bail is to attend trial.”
“I guarantee that he will attend the trial,” he added.
The prosecuting counsel, T.J. Banjo, who strongly opposed the application for bail, adopted the prosecution’s 19-paragraph counter-affidavit, stressing unequivocally that the defendant was a flight-risk.
He told the Court that the defendant was an ex-convict as shown by the judgment of a United States Court sent to the EFCC by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI.
“Attached is the judgment where he was charged in the United States of America and convicted for bank fraud,” he said.
He further told the Court that the defendant had a passport apart from that of Nigeria, and “once he leaves the country it will be difficult to get him to attend the trial.”
He, therefore, urged the Court to “discountenance” the bail application and to “grant accelerated hearing.”
After listening to the arguments, Justice Taiwo adjourned till March 21, 2022 for “ruling and trial”, and ordered that the defendant remain in the EFCC custody.
