Jelili Gbadamosi
A Federal High Court sitting in Enugu has granted bail in the sum of N200 million to the Group Managing Director of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Egwuche Chinyere Gladys, who is facing trial over an alleged $600,000 money laundering case.
Gladys and her company were arraigned by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice F. O. Giwa-Ogunbanjo on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged violations of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the defendant accepted cash payments of $50,000 in 12 separate tranches between March 13 and April 11, 2023, amounting to $600,000, without routing the transactions through a financial institution as required by law.
According to the EFCC, the money was received as part payment for a 180220TPH Granite Stone Crushing Line sold by Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited to Patan Nigeria Limited and Reinforce Global Resources Limited under a joint venture arrangement.
The commission maintained that the cash payments exceeded the statutory threshold of N10 million and therefore constituted an offence under the Money Laundering Act.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Following the plea, EFCC counsel, Assistant Commander Rotimi Enitan Ajobiewe, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending trial.
However, defence counsel, Roy O. U. Nwaeze, SAN, informed the court of a pending bail application and sought the court’s discretion to admit his client to bail.
In his ruling, Justice Giwa-Ogunbanjo granted Gladys bail in the sum of N200 million with two sureties in like sum. The court ordered that the sureties must own landed property within the court’s jurisdiction and directed the defendant to deposit her international passport with the court registrar.
The judge further ordered the EFCC to verify the addresses of the sureties within seven days and adjourned the matter until November 11, 2026, for trial.
