By Ada Okafor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), tuesday, re-arraigned a Commercial Director at the Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited, Mohammed Kuchazi, before Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Kuchazi and his company, Kore Holdings Limited are being prosecuted on an eight-count charge bordering on failure to comply with the regulations of the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), as stipulated by the Money Laundering Prohibition Act.

At the resume hearing, prosecution counsel, Bala Sanga, told the court that the matter is for arraignment, and that the defendant first arraigned before Justice Giwa Ogunbanjo has been transferred out of jurisdiction, hence the re-arraignment.

He requested that the charge be read to the defendant to take his plea.

Count one of the charge reads: “That you Kore Holdings Limited, being a Designated Non-Financial Institution; Muhammed Kuchazi, being a Director of and signatory to the bank account of Kore Holdings Limited, sometimes in May 2014, in Abuja, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, failed to comply with the requirements of submitting, to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, a declaration of the activities of Kore Holdings Limited contrary to Section 16(1) (f) read together with section 5(1) (a) (ii) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 16 (2)(b) of the same Act”.

Another count reads; “That you Muhammed Kuchazi, being a director of and signatory to the bank account of Kore Holdings Limited, sometime in May 2014, in Abuja, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, aided Kore Holdings Limited in failing to develop programmes to combat money laundering and other illegal acts, to wit: failure to designate at management level a compliance officer within any strata of Kore Holdings Limited, contrary to section 16(1) (f) read together with section 9(1) (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and you thereby committed and offence contrary to section 18 (a) of the same act and punishable under section 16 (2) (b) of the same Act”.

The defendant pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.

In view of his not guilty plea, Sanga requested for a trial date and told the judge that the defendant was granted bail by Justice Ogunbanjo.

The Judge thereafter, granted him bail on the same term, and adjourned the matter to February 1, 2022 for trial.