Alleged N71.5m Ponzi Fraud: Court Adjourns Okoronkwo’s Trial Till 29 October

Justice F. O. Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu State has adjourned the trial of an alleged notorious ponzi scheme operator,  Chinedu Roland Okoronkwo, standing trial for  N71, 580, 000 (Seventy One Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira) fraud till 29 October 2024.

Okoronkwo is being prosecuted alongside his company, Reliance Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on  36-count charges bordering on carrying out banking businesses without a valid licence, forgery and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N71, 580, 000.

When the matter came up on Thursday, October 10, 2024, counsel to the EFCC, Blessing Obasi presented the Ninth Prosecution Witness, PW9, Abubakar Abubakar Abubakar, an operative of the Commission, who narrated how a petitioner alleged that he was lured into investing N25million in Okoronkwo’s company (Reliance Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited) after he was made to believe that he can take back his principal sum after ninety days. After the said duration, the petitioner demanded for his principal sum and interest but was allegedly denied.

“Upon receipt of the petition, other petitions with similar complaints started flooding in and investigations commenced. Investigation was extended to the defendant’s accounts at Guaranty Trust Bank and United Bank for Africa. Several responses were gotten and in GTB, he had like 10 accounts and they were analyzed accordingly.

“The analysis revealed that the victims invested their money into the second defendant’s (Reliance Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited) company and the said money was not used for the said investment. He diverted the funds for his personal uses”.

The PW9 further disclosed how his team wrote to the Enugu State Investment Development Authority and the Central Bank of Nigeria concerning the second defendant but the responses showed that Reliance Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited was not registered to carry out financial transactions.

The prosecution counsel showed the PW9 the response from the CBN showing that the second defendant was not registered and the witness identified it. It was tendered and admitted in evidence as exhibit 39.

The responses from GTB were also identified by the witness and they were tendered by the prosecution and admitted in evidence as exhibits 40, 1 to 38; and exhibits 43, 1 to 6.

Narrating how money belonging to the victims passed through the second defendant’s account, the PW9 said, “Exhibit 42 is a statement of account of the second defendant. It is a corporate account and that is the account that was used by the first defendant to receive money from victims of his schemes, running into millions of naira”.

Continuing, the witness stated that, “on the 4th of February, 2016, a victim, Okechukwu Christopher, deposited N3 million into the second defendant’s account. On the 5th of February, 2016, the first defendant transferred over N 2 million from the N3 million to his personal account. On the 1st of April, 2016, another victim Abue Tehila deposited N3 million. Also, the petitioner deposited the sum of N25 million into the second defendant’s account in two trenches. He paid N10 million and later paid N15 million. The defendant withdrew the sum of N4. 4 million and moved to his personal account. He also paid a N1.2 million fee from the same account to one Oliver Uche”.

The matter was thereafter adjourned to October 29, 2024 for continuation of trial.

Count three of the charge reads: “That you, Chinedu Roland Okoronkwo (while being the CEO and Managing Director of Reliance (Enugu) Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited) and Reliance (Enugu) Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited on the of 9th October, 2018 in Enugu within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court obtained the sum of Fifteen Million Naira (N15, 000, 000. 00) from one Francis Okoye Maluze under the pretence that Reliance (Enugu) Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited is a registered Cooperative Society and a micro finance bank duly licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to carry out banking businesses and  licensed by the Nigerian Deposit and Insurance Corporation which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.

Count 36 of the charge reads: “That you, Chinedu Roland Okoronkwo (while being the CEO and Managing Director of Reliance (Enugu) Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited) and Reliance (Enugu) Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited on the 5th of August, 2015, in Enugu within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud made a forged document to wit: Certificate of Registration of Reliance (Enugu) Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited with intent that it be acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1 (2) (C) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17 LFN 2004”.

Investigations and prosecution of  Okoronkwo began  in 2019 when the Commission received a petition from one Francis Okoye alleging that he was lured into investing N25million in Okoronkwo’s company (Reliance Microfinance Cooperative Society Limited) after he was made to believe that he can take back his principal sum after ninety days. After the said duration, the petitioner demanded for his principal sum and interest but was denied.

In the course of investigations, more than 100 petitioners also alleged  that Okoronkwo lured them into investing millions of naira in his company.  He was arraigned on October 14, 2019 and pleaded not guilty, setting the stage for his trial.