A Federal High Court in Lagos has scheduled April 30, 2025, for the arraignment of Kelechukwu Mbagwu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CMB Building Maintenance & Investment Company Limited, over allegations of conspiracy, obtaining money by pretenses, and involvement in a N1.026 billion fraud case.
Mbagwu and his company are being prosecuted by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, on multiple charges linked to financial fraud.
The defendants were initially slated to be arraigned on February 12, but the proceedings were postponed due to their absence.
According to the charge sheet filed by the PSFU, the alleged fraud occurred in 2019.
Mbagwu and CMB Building Maintenance & Investment Company Limited were accused of using a property in Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos, as collateral to secure a loan of N1,026,968,433 from Access Bank.
The property, according to the charge, had already been sold to a third party before it was used as security for the loan.
The prosecution further alleged that Mbagwu unlawfully converted the loan amount to personal use, despite knowing that the property was no longer under his ownership.
The charges against the defendants cite violations of multiple financial laws, including the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2006, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In specific terms, the police accused Mbagwu and other unnamed directors of CMB of conspiring to commit financial fraud by deceiving Access Bank into granting a loan under false pretences.
This offence, the charge reveals, contravenes Section 8(i)(a) and is punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
The defendants were equally alleged to have misrepresented their ownership of the Oniru property when securing the loan.
According to the prosecution, Mbagwu falsely presented himself as a reliable and trustworthy client, concealing the fact that the property had already been sold. This charge violates Section 1(i)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act.
Mbagwu is further accused of directly or indirectly converting, transferring, and taking possession of the N1.026 billion loan obtained from Access Bank, despite knowing or reasonably suspecting that the funds resulted from an unlawful act.
This offence, the charge said, is contrary to Section 18(2)(b)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
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