CJN Onnoghen In Fresh Trouble As FG Finds More ‘Suspicious Funds’ In his accounts

There are fresh financial allegations against the embattled Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.

On Wednesday, The Nation reported “suspicious” transactions, including an $800,000 Standard Chartered Bank investment subscription.

Also allegedly found is $630,000 lodged in some of the accounts through what is described as “structured payments” in tranches of $10,000 each.

Most of the lodgements, effected between 2012 and 2016, were undeclared in Justice Onnoghen’s assets declaration form, the sources claimed, pleading not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the investigation.

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit has restricted the operation of five accounts with about $3 million.

The accounts in the Standard Chartered Bank are USD No. 870001062650; Euro account No. 93001062686; Pound Sterling A/CNo.

285001062679; e-Saver Savings (Naira) account No. 5001062693; and a Naira A/C No. 0001062667.

The newspaper said it had seen an intelligence report on the CJN’s accounts, which reads in part: “Pattern of structured payments of $10,000.00 each in 2012. For example, a total of $60,000.00 was credited to the accounts using this pattern.

“Similarly structured payments of $10,000.00 amounting to $297,800.00, $50,000.00 and $36,000.00 were deposited in the account in 2013, 2015 and 2016 respectively.

“There was also a credit of $121,116.00 into the account from 2014 to 2016 from Life Friend Plc. The payments were in four installments, of $30,279.00 each. These payments suggest the suspect has investments.

“A payment at $482,966.00 from Alicia Redemption Pro and shortly after, $800,000.00 was invested in SCB Investment subscription. We are in the process of verifying these transactions;

“Other suspicious transactions in the account are credit of $19,764.00 from Pur of Noble and seven (7) payments of $3,250.00, each amounting to $22,750.00 from Lloyds TSB.”

On the pound sterling (GBP), the investigative team discovered “a self- transfer of £40,268.40 into the account on May 31 2016.”

The report added: “There were also self-deposits by the suspect of £49,760.00 from July 2015 to September, 2016 but the balance as at September 30, 2016 was £108,348.00.”

Regarding the Naira account, the report said: “The following highlights some of the suspicious activities in the account: A transfer of N41,262.000.00 ($260,000) was made from the dollar account. The money was used to make payment of N41million to Ad hoc Committee on the Sale of Federal Government Houses, suggesting that he bought a property with proceeds of the transfer;

“The only other significant transactions in the accounts are six (6) structured cash payments of N500,000.00 each and one payment of N700,000.00 amounting to N3.7 mlllion from November, 2013 to August, 2016.”