Appeal Court jails Senator Nwaoboshi seven years for money laundering

The senator, representing Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Peter Nwaoboshi was on Friday sentenced to seven years imprisonment for money laundering by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the Appeal Court’s ruling was sequel to its appeal challenging the judgment of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court which on June 18, 2021, discharged and acquitted the defendants on two counts of fraud and money laundering.

The court also ordered that the senator’s two companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd, be wound up in line with the provision of Section 22 of the Money Laundering Act 2021.

EFCC had arraigned the three defendants over the acquisition of a property named Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million.

Part of the money paid to the vendor – N322 million transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd – was alleged to be part of proceeds of fraud.

Earlier in his judgment, Justice Aneke said the evidence of the prosecutor “proved that the third defendant obtained a loan of N1.2 billion from Zenith Bank for purchase of additional equipment and as provision of working capital.

“It also proved that the loan of N1.2 billion together with interest of N24 million was properly granted to the third. Nothing else was proved by the complainant or prosecutor in this case,” the EFCC quoted the judge as saying in a statement.