Segun Atanda/
A former employee of First Bank of Nigeria, Muiz Tijani Adeyinka, has lost his multi-billion naira illicit fortune to the Federal Government after a court ordered the final forfeiture of his fraudulent proceeds.
Justice A.O. Owoeye of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, granted the order on Monday, February 3, 2025, sealing the fate of the whopping N1,168,602,877.44, $392,818.01, and £35,070, which were traced to Adeyinka’s personal and business accounts.
The ruling followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which had earlier secured an interim forfeiture order on November 27, 2024. The order was subsequently publicized, allowing any interested parties to challenge the forfeiture, but none did.
EFCC counsel Zeenat Atiku told the court that the commission launched an investigation into Adeyinka after First Bank of Nigeria filed a petition on March 26, 2024, detailing fraudulent transactions across multiple bank accounts.
Investigators found that Adeyinka, who previously worked in the bank’s Settlement Office, exploited his privileged access to manipulate accounts. He allegedly generated fictitious foreign currency inflows, quickly converting them to naira and siphoning the funds into personal and associate accounts.
In a bid to cover his tracks, Adeyinka reportedly laundered the proceeds by purchasing US dollars and cryptocurrencies, including USDT (Tether). The EFCC successfully traced the illicit funds to his personal dollar accounts and crypto wallets.
After reviewing the case, Justice Owoeye ruled in favor of the EFCC’s application, declaring that the agency had provided sufficient evidence to justify the final forfeiture of the funds.
With this verdict, Adeyinka’s fraudulent earnings now belong to the Federal Government, marking another victory in Nigeria’s ongoing fight against financial crimes.
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