Court jails BDC operator six months for illegal forex trading
The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced one Faruk Umar to six months imprisonment for engaging in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
According to a statement on Monday via X by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke delivered the judgment on Wednesday, following Umar’s guilty plea to the charge brought against him by the EFCC.
According to the statement, Umar was arrested on August 26, 2024, alongside others, at the Eko Hotel area of Victoria Island, Lagos, following credible intelligence on the activities of illegal Bureau De Change operators.
He was later arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on a one-count charge related to fraudulent forex transactions.
The charge read in part, “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 offence contrary to Section 11(1)(a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment Act, 1994 and punishable under Section 11(2) of the same Act.”
During the court proceedings, EFCC prosecutor C.C. Okezie called investigating officer Hamisu Sanni to review the case facts. Sanni revealed that Umar confessed to buying and selling foreign currency without a Central Bank of Nigeria licence.
“We subjected his phone to forensic examination, which revealed over 40 conversations related to forex transactions with other individuals,” Sanni told the court.
The EFCC presented Umar’s confessional statements and investigation findings as evidence, after which the prosecution urged the court to convict and sentence him.
In his ruling, Justice Aneke found Umar guilty and sentenced him to six months imprisonment, with an option of a ₦50,000 fine to be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of Umar’s phone to the Federal Government of Nigeria
