By Ralph Christopher
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the final forfeiture of N827, 679,098.32 against Flank Power Resources Limited and GMFD Ventures Limited, both of whom are firms linked to contractors of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Matthew Edevbie is the Chief Executive Officer of Flank Power Resources Limited.
The forfeiture followed the order of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, sequel to an affidavit deposed to by one of the EFCC investigators, in which the Commission prayed the court for the forfeiture of the amount to the federal government, being proceeds of unlawful activity, traced to some contractors’ accounts at the Zenith Bank.
A breakdown of the recovery shows that N616, 679, 098.32 was recovered from Flank Power Resources Limited, while N211 million was recovered from GMFD Ventures Limited.
It was discovered that between 2018 and 2019, Flank Power Resources Limited received the money from the NDDC, through its account number: 1015642852 , while GMFD received through account number: 1014657819, both of which are domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc, for desilting contracts, which aside being inflated, were not executed, but diverted and laundered.
The sum of N616, 679, 098.32 recovered from Flank Power Resources Limited was facilitated through 62 Zenith Bank drafts drawn in favour of the EFCC Recovery Funds Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while the N211 million from GMFD came through 22 Zenith Bank drafts in favour of the same account.
EFCC secured the interim forfeiture of the money on June 8, and its final forfeiture was granted by the court on June 29.
