EFCC Arraigns SunTrust Bank Executives Over $12 Million Money Laundering Charges
Halima Buba and Innocent Mbagwu face six-count charge; court grants ₦100m bail each
EFCC Arraigns SunTrust Bank Executives Over $12m Fraud Allegations
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday arraigned Halima Buba, Managing Director/CEO of SunTrust Bank Ltd, and Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer, before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The two senior banking officials are facing a six-count charge of money laundering involving the alleged facilitation of illegal cash transactions totaling $12 million, in breach of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
According to the EFCC, the charges stem from multiple large cash payments made without passing through a financial institution, an act deemed unlawful under Nigerian law.
One of the charges reads:
“That you, HALIMA BUBA, and INNOCENT MBAGWU, on March 10, 2025, in Abuja, aided Femi Gbamgboye to make a cash payment of $3,000,000 to Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma and associates without going through a financial institution.”
Another charge alleges a similar offence committed on March 13, 2025, in Lagos, where the defendants allegedly conspired to facilitate a $3 million cash transaction to Mukhtar Miko, also bypassing regulatory channels.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Bail Arguments and Court Ruling
Lead prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), opposed the existing bail applications submitted by the defendants on May 27, 2025, arguing they were filed before the accused had been arrested or formally arraigned.
“They applied for bail from the comfort of their homes or offices without any formal legal action initiated against them,” Oyedepo noted.
However, defence counsel, J.J. Usman (SAN), urged the court to uphold the earlier applications.
After considering both sides, Justice Nwite granted bail to the defendants in the sum of ₦100 million each, with one surety each in the same amount.
Conditions for bail include:
Sureties must have landed property in Abuja, with proof submitted to the court.
Sureties must deposit international passports and two passport photographs.
All documents and residential addresses of sureties will be verified by the court.
Until bail conditions are met, the court ordered that the defendants be remanded in a correctional facility.
The case was adjourned to July 17 and 18, 2025, for the continuation of trial.
This high-profile arraignment marks a notable step in the EFCC’s ongoing campaign against financial crimes within Nigeria’s banking sector.
