SFU Witness Fingers Trafigura Oil Firms, Nigerian Associates in Money Laundering

Azeez Folorunso/

A Special Offences Court, sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has been told that Trafigura Beheer BV, Trafigura PTE Limited engaged in illegal activities of money laundering.

The allegation was made by a witness of the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police, Mr Emefo Etudo, under cross-examination by lead defence counsel to the third defendant, Professor Taiwo Oshinpitan.

 
Others facing alleged 3-count criminal charge alongside Trafigura are Yusuf Yahaya Kwande, Mettle Energy and Gas, Rendbrandt Limited, Osahon Asemota and Jil  Engineering and Oil Services Limited.

 
He told the court presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada, that Trafigura alongside the defendants used Nadabo Energy money for illegal activities.

 
The witness affirmed that Trafigura illegal activities caused Nadabo Energy Limited enormous loses as he told the court another witness would testify on money laundering activities of Trafigura. 

He noted that Yahaya Kwande was the alter ego of Trafigura in Nigeria, using clandestine offices and bank accounts to further their alleged illegal money laundering activities. 

“The third defendant is the alter ego of Trafigura in Nigeria. He is the director of operations and administration. He is the one using clandestine offices and bank accounts to further their illegal operations. 

“In paragraph 29 of exhibit P17, we made it clear that the first and second defendants (Trafigura Beheer BV and Trafigura PTE Limited) are using our money in laundering transactions in Nigeria. They lied that they don’t have operation office in Nigeria. They are endangering our resources. 

“Trafigura has caused Nadabo enormous losses. Nadabo will come and give details of money laundering.  Nadabo money is about $200million which was endangered.

“Yusuf Kwande is the man running Trafigura businesses in Nigeria, and he was the one responsible for the transaction that failed. He is the alter ego of Trafigura in Nigeria. The third defendant is everything about Trafigura in Nigeria. If he is not there they will not even have a lawyer for him, ” Etudo said. 

The witness further told the court under cross-examination by Osahon Idemuden, that he did not have confidence in the veracity of evidence in the suit filed by Renbrandt Limited in the Federal High Court because he could no longer trust the people who gave him the job.

 
He said he relied on inaccurate information provided by Mettle Energy and Gas, Rendbrandt Limited, the sixth defendant (Osahon Asemota) to file the action before the Federal High Court against the Jil Engineering and Oil Services Limited.

 
He said that the discrepancies in the averment in the suit before the Federal High Court and petition earlier written by him while serving as attorney to Asemota and other defendants was a script perfectly acted by all the defendants without his knowledge as their lawyer then.

“I can’t confirm the veracity of the evidence in exhibit P15 (Federal High Court suit filed on behalf of Rendbrandt Limited) because I don’t have confidence in the people who gave me the job. 

“The information in the suit was given by Mettle, Rendbrandt and their officers. All the defendants in the dock were the people that provided the information to us. 

“It is not true and never true that any of the defendants paid for the cargo. Most of the information was false. Trafigura concocted a story that the cargo was contaminated and it was bought by Mettle Energy and Gas Limited. This statement was a false statement. 

“Renbrandt never imported any AGO. Some of the information here given to us by Renbrandt were false. Nadabo was never the agent of Renbrandt. Renbrandt and Lubcon were agents of Nadabo. They were agencies contacted in writing.

“As at the time of writing the petition, documents given to me were limited and I did not know but now I’m wiser,” Etudo argued.

 
The defendants allegedly committed the offences from October 22, 2008, and December 15, 2008.

Justice Dada adjourned the matter to January 23, 2019, for the continuation of cross-examination of the witness. 

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