Emefiele’s co-defendant Sa’adatu Yaro has separate money laundering case

Sa’adatu Yaro, a co-defendant in the latest charges filed against the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has a pending money laundering case in court.

She is billed for arraignment alongside Mr Emefiele in a fresh case of procurement fraud at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Thursday.

Before Mr Emefiele was arrested and was subsequently charged, Mrs Yaro had been facing money laundering charges.

On 22 May, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arraigned her before a judge, Obiora Egwuatu, of the Federal High Court in Abuja for alleged N140 billion money laundering charges.

She was arraigned alongside her company, Tsami Babi Resources Limited, for failing in her duty as director to disclose the financial transactions of the firm to the Federal Ministry of Commerce.

Some of the alleged infractions were the financial transactions in Tsami Babi Resources Limited’s account with a new generation bank to the tune of over N100 billion which were not disclosed to the Ministry of Commerce.

Saadatu Ramallan Yaro, being a Director Of Tsami Babi Resources Limited, a Designated Non-Financial Institution, between 5th July, 2021 and 20th day of April, 2022, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, failed to submit to the Ministry of Commerce, a declaration of activities of the said company within which period the total sum of N20,967,535,184.00(Twenty Billion, Nine Hundred and Sixty-seven Million, Five Hundred and Thirty Five Thousand, One Hundred and Eighty-Four Naira was deposited into the Company’s account No.1216254641 domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc,” one of the charges read.

The EFCC said the alleged offence violates “sections 5(1) (a), 16(1) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended) and punishable under section 16 (2)(b) of the same Act”.

In another charge, Ms Ramallan-Yaro was charged alongside M.A.Y FINE FRAGRANCE LIMITED, a designated non-financial institution for money laundering to the tune of N40 billion.

Upon the defendants arraignment, Ms Ramalan-Yaro pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At the May hearing, the prosecution lawyer, Faruk Abdullah, urged the judge to set a date for trial.

But, the defendants’ lawyer, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of (SAN), prayed the court to admit his client to bail.

Subsequently, Mr Egwuatu granted the defendant bail in the sum of N100 million with two sureties in like sum.

The judge also added that one of the sureties must be a public servant and the other a relation.

Mr Egwuatu ordered Ms Ramalan-Yaro to deposit her international passport with the court Chief Registrar and adjourned the suit for trial.