Oil Magnate to Spend New Year in Custody as Court Decides Bail January 8

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Hope of him spending the new year with family and loved ones was dashed yesterday as a Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned till January 8, 2025, for ruling in the bail application brought by an oil magnate and Chairman of Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited, Mr. Akindele Akintoye.

Akintoye, was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Center on Christmas eve, shortly after his arraignment on a four count charge, bordering on money laundering and alleged diversion of funds for the building of a refinery in Brass, Bayelsa State.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to all the counts and the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite had adjourned to Tuesday December 31, for hearing in the bail application.

However, moving the bail application at the resumed trial yesterday, Akintoye’s lawyer, Mr. Emmanuel Esedo, who stated that the alleged offence was a bail-able one and that bail was at the discretion of the court, argued that his client be admitted to bail to enable him prepare adequately for his trial.

He supported the application with a copy of a medical report on his client as well as a ruling by Justice Adebiyi of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), admitting Akintoye to bail in another charge.

“We have Exhibit AA-3, which is a copy of the letter by the applicant’s lawyer to the commission explaining his absence from Nigeria when he was first invited.

“We have Exhibit AA-4, which is a copy of letter directed to EFCC explaining the issue of the international passport of the applicant,” he said.

However, when asked about Akintoye’s International Passport; a condition for granting bail, Esedo explained that Akintoye was also facing a charge before an FCT High where the travel document was deposited.

He said when his client wanted to travel abroad for medicare, the court released the document to him through the sureties.

He said after the trip, the travel documents were deposited with the sureties who were in Lagos in accordance with the order of the court.

“If the court makes an order for the international passport to be produced, how do will reconcile this now?” the judge asked.

Esedo said if the judge insisted that the travel documents should be produced, it would be in breach of the order of the FCT High Court

“Everything they canvassed here has been canvassed before the other court which ordered that he should be released unconditionally,” he said.

However, Nwite pointed out that the order of the court must be made to ensure the defendants stands his trial.

Responding, prosecution lawyer, Martha Babatunde, opposed the grant of the bail, claiming that the applicant (Akintoye) was a flight risk.

Besides, the prosecution disclosed that contrary to the applicant, his international passport was not with the FCT High Court.

“We wrote the court and the court said it is with the defendant.

“This attitude of the defendant shows that he may likely jump bail,” she said.

Justice Nwite after listening to the submissions of lawyers fixed January 8 for ruling on the bail application.

Akintoye, in the four-count charge, was alleged to have diverted a sum of $26,060, 406 dollars meant to build a refinery in Brass, Bayelsa.

Akintoye, Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited and Duport Midstream Company Limited, where he is also the Managing Director and CEO, were sued as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively, by the anti-graft agency.

The EFCC, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/641/V/2024 dated and filed on December 19, by its lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, had alleged that Akintoye and Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited between December, 2020 and February, 2021, indirectly retained $16 million.

The amount, the EFCC said, was part of the funds dishonestly converted from the money paid by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Capacity Development Intervention Company Ltd to Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited as investment.

The said sum of $16, 006, 000 was alleged to constitute proceed of unlawful activity.

The offense, EFCC said, was contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended) by (Act No. 1 of 20!2) and punishable under Section [5(3) of the same Act.

In count two, Akintoye and Platform Capital were alleged to have, between December 2020 and January 2021, indirectly used the aggregate sum of $9, 048, 725 being part of the funds dishonestly converted from the money paid by the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Ltd to Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited as investment.

In count three, Akintoye and Duport Midstream Company Limited were alleged to have, sometime in March 2021, retained the sum of $785, 681 being part of the funds dishonestly converted from the money paid by the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Ltd to Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited as investment.

The EFCC, in count four, accused Akintoye and Duport Midstream of allegedly retaining the sum of $220, 000 being part of the funds dishonestly converted from the money paid by the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Ltd to Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited as investment.

The money was said to be proceeds of unlawful activity and the offense was contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended) by (Act No. 1 of 2012) and | punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

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