Witness links SunTrust Bank executives, Aisha Achimugu to suspicious cash-based forex transactions

A prosecution witness told the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday how SunTrust Bank executives, Halima Buba and Innocent Mbagwu, allegedly facilitated suspicious $12 million forex transactions, bypassing the regular financial procedure.

Suleiman Ciroma, the first prosecution witness, said $12 million cash was disbursed at SunTrust Bank branches in Abuja and Lagos within 10 days.

The defendants – Ms Buba and Mr Mbagwu, are the Managing Director/Chief Executive and Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank, respectively.

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) arraigned them on 13 June before trialf judge Emeka Nwite on six counts of money laundering.

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The commission accused them of facilitating large cash transactions outside the formal financial system.

Specifically, the anti-graft agency alleged that in March 2025, the defendants aided separate cash payments of $3 million each in Abuja and Lagos, without passing through a financial institution.

The offences, the EFCC said, are contrary to Section 21(a), 2(1), and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and are punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of N100 million each.

Mr Ciroma, a bureau de change operator, who allegedly served as an intermediary for foreign exchange transactions between the defendants and Aisha Achimugu, an oil magnate and socialite. The EFCC arrested Ms Achimugu in April over money laundering and Ponzi scheme allegations, among other alleged financial crimes.

“Sometime in March 2025, I received a call from Aisha Achimugu that she had some forex transactions at SunTrust Bank. I contacted the first defendant, and she confirmed she was aware,” said Mr Ciroma.

The cash flow

Led in evidence by EFCC lawyer Ekele Iheanacho, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the first prosecution witness said the suspicious transactions took place in March at SunTrust Bank branches in Abuja and Lagos.

He said different agents were sent to collect cash on behalf of Ms Achimugu, based on instructions confirmed by Ms Buba.

The witness, who identified the first defendant, Ms Buba, said he had never met the second defendant, Mr Mbagwu, in person but had spoken with him over the phone.

Mr Ciroma tendered a bundle of documents to support his testimony.

He said the transactions began on 10 March after he received a call from Ms Achimugu, who informed him she had foreign exchange transactions to carry out through the bank.

Mr Ciroma said he immediately contacted Ms Buba, who confirmed her awareness of the transactions.

Later the same day, he said, a man named Iliya called to inform him that he was at the bank’s Abuja branch to collect a $1 million cash payment, which was to be swapped and paid into the Zenith Bank account of Oceangate Energy Oil & Gas, a company linked to Ms Achimugu.

“I then contacted my friend, Hassan Dantani of Ashrap Ltd, who sent Tijjani Adamu for the collection of the cash,” he said.

According to the witness, another $1 million was collected the same day by Abdulkadir Mohammed from the same Abuja branch, while a further $2 million was picked up by a man identified as Kabiru.

Mr Ciroma told the court that the cash swaps totalling $12 million were facilitated in installments between 10 and 20 March, with Ms Buba coordinating the Abuja transactions and Mr Mbagwu handling those in Lagos.

“In all the transactions, I made a profit of N15 million,” he added.

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Purpose of the transactions

When asked the purpose of the transactions, he said: “Aisha Achimugu told me that she wanted to buy an oil block and would need dollar inflows into the Oceangate Energy Oil & Gas account.”

Led by the prosecution lawyer, Mr Ciroma tendered several exhibits, including WhatsApp messages exchanged with Ms Buba regarding the transactions, along with a certificate of identification.

Although, defence lawyers – Johnson Usman and M.S. Ibrahim, both SANs – opposed the admissibility of the documents, they reserved their grounds of objections until their final addresses.

Judge Nwite admitted and marked the documents as Exhibit P1.

He then adjourned further hearing until 18 July.