EFCC Arraigns Lawyer Over Alleged N1.3bn Forex Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a legal practitioner, Barrister Alexander Uchenna Ozougwu, before the Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, over allegations of defrauding victims of N1.32 billion through a fraudulent foreign exchange investment scheme.
The EFCC’s Uyo Zonal Directorate presented Ozougwu before Justice Sergius Onah on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, on a six-count charge related to obtaining money by false pretence, a violation of Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
Court documents reveal that Ozougwu allegedly received large sums of money into an account registered under Starlight Attorneys, knowing that the funds were proceeds of fraudulent activities.
One charge states:
“That you, Alexander Uchenna Ozougwu, sometime in September 2024 in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, took possession of the sum of N268,850,000 through a bank account with account name – Starlight Attorneys, which you knew was derived from an unlawful act, to wit: obtaining money by false pretence, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.”
Another charge alleges that in July 2024, Ozougwu fraudulently obtained N213,000,000 through the same bank account under similar circumstances.
Ozougwu pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution counsel, Joshua O. Abolarin, requested that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending trial. However, defense counsel, C. M. Onuchukwu, applied for bail, arguing that Ozougwu would remain available for trial.
Justice Onah granted bail in the sum of N500 million, with two sureties of at least grade level 12 civil servants who must own landed property within the court’s jurisdiction. Ozougwu was also ordered to surrender his international passport and provide two passport photographs.
The EFCC disclosed that the charges stem from four petitions against Ozougwu. Complainants alleged that he posed as a registered bureau de change operator with the Central Bank of Nigeria, tricking them into giving him access to their betting account passwords under the pretense of funding their accounts. Instead, he allegedly diverted the funds.
Investigations further revealed that Ozougwu was operating a Ponzi scheme disguised as forex trading, siphoning over N1.3 billion from victims and channeling large sums into betting platforms.
The court adjourned the case to March 31, 2025, for trial.
