A federal High Court in Ikeja has sentenced Faruk Umar, to six months imprisonment over his Illegal Bureau De Change operations at the Eko Hotel area of Victoria Island, Lagos.
Umar was sentenced months after he was arrested alongside others and arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), following his operations without the necessary licenses, and permits, from the regulatory authorities.
The convict, who faced a one-count charge, was found guilty of fraudulent foreign exchange transactions and other related offenses, in breach of the Central Bank Of Nigeria Act.
The one-count charge reads, “That you, Faruk Umar, sometime in August 2024 at Eko Hotel Area, Victoria Island Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 11(1) (a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment, (ETC) Act, 1994 and punishable under Section 11(2) of the same Act”.
After hearing the charges brought against him, Umar pleaded not guilty to his crime. However, the prosecution’s counsel C Okezie, presented an investigative officer from EFCC, Hamisu Sanni, who reviewed the case to the court.
Sanni narrated that the convict confessed to being involved in the buying and selling of foreign currency with a license from the CBN.
The investigative officer, further explained that Umar’s phone was subjected to forensic examination, which revealed over 40 conversations related to forex transactions with his accomplices.
After reviewing the evidence, the presiding Judge, Chukwujiekwu Aneke, found Umar guilty of the offense and sentenced him to six months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 bail, which should be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation.
His phone was also forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria, since it was used in his illegal activities.
