The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned a Bureau de Change operator, Auwal Ibrahim before Justice Farouq Lawal of the High Court of Kano State on 2-count charge that borders on issuance of dishonored cheques.
The accused person arraigned on Thursday is alleged to have converted part of the $100, 000 (one hundred thousand United States Dollars) given to him to sell by patrons to personal use.
Sometime in August 2012, the accused allegedly received the sum $50,000 from a complainant with a promise to return N7, 900,000. After sale of the foreign currency, he only returned N3, 850, 000 (Three Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira).
In October 2012, the accused person again collected another $50, 000 from Indo Kyaftin Bureau de Change. When it was time to return the proceeds of the sale, he issued two Skye Bank Cheques which bounced on presentation due to insufficient funds in the account.
One of the charges read, “that you Auwalu Ibrahim on or about the 31st day October, 2012 in Kano within the judicial division of the High Court of Justice Kano State issued a Skye Bank Cheque dated the 31st October, 2012 for the sum of N7,900,000 (Seven Million Nine Hundred Thousand Naira Only) to Indo Kyaftin BDC limited which was presented and returned unpaid on the ground that no sufficient funds were standing to the credit of the drawer as at 2nd November, 2012, the date it was presented and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1)(a) and punishable under section (1)(1)(b) of the Dishonored Cheque Offences Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004”.
The accused person pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Justice Lawal ordered that the accused be remanded in EFCC custody pending hearing of the bail application and adjourned proceedings to January 23, 2014.
