P&ID $9.6bn Fine: Court Orders Forfeiture Of Assets As Firms Plead Guilty

By Mike Ojo// A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday ordered the forfeiture of assets belonging to Process and Industrial Development Limited (Incorporated in Virgin Island) and its Nigerian affiliate, P&ID Nigeria Ltd to the federal government.

The court equally issued an order winding up the activities of the two companies in Nigeria after finding them guilty economic sabotage, tax evasion and money laundering in respect of the contract leading to the recent controversial judgment of a British court empowering the firm to seize about $9.6bn worth of Nigerian assets abroad.

The pronouncement by Justice Inyang Ekwo came following the guilty plea of the two representatives of the P&ID in all the 11 counts before the Federal High Court.

They were thereafter consequently convicted.

While P&ID Ltd, Virgin Island was represented by its Commercial Director, Mohammad Kuchazi, P&ID Nigeria was represented by Adamu Usman, who is also a lawyer.

During the court proceedings, Kuchazi was represented by his lawyer, Dandison Akurunwua, while Usman represented himself.

They were among other things, accused  by the federal government of fraudulently claiming to have acquired land from the Cross River State Government in 2010 for the gas supply project agreement which led to the $9.6bn judgment.

After the defendants pleaded guilty to the 11 counts, an EFCC investigator, Usman Zakari , was called to the witness box for review of facts which was not opposed by the defence.

In the course of the exercise, the investigator tendered some documents relating to the controversial 2010 gas supply contract and EFCC’s investigation activities were tendered and admitted by the judge as exhibits without objection from the defence.

The judge then went on to pronounce the two firms represented by the two men guilty.

Although the prosecution counsels,compromise of Mr Sanga, Rotimi Oyedepo Ekele Iheanacho had commended the defendants for their forthrightness and candour, they submitted that under section 19 (2) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act and section 10(2) of the Advanced Fee Fraud, where a body is convicted under these laws, the proper order is for the winding up its affairs and forfeiture of its assets and property to the Federal government.

Earlier in their allocutus (plea for mercy), the defendants prayed the court to consider that they did not waste the time of the court in arriving at its judgment.

Counsel for P&ID, Akurunwua, urged the judge to consider “the forthrightness and candour” of  his client by pleading guilty and not wasting the time of the court in the trial.

In his judgment, Justice  Ekwo held: “I have reviewed the evidence tendered by the prosecution and the exhibits  supported by PW1 A, B, C  tendered before this court and I have taken note of the plea of guilt by the defendants.

“It is upon these findings that I find the 1st and 2nd defendants guilty as charged and I hereby made the following orders. The 1st defendant is convicted on count 1-10 while the 2nd defendant is convicted on count 1-11.

“I have listened to the allocutus of the defendants and I have also listened to the prosecution counsel. I will make my orders according to the dictates of the law.

“An order is made winding up the activities of the 1st and 2nd defendants in the country forthwith.

“An order is made that their properties and assets be forfeited to the Federal government of Nigeria. Having made these orders, I enter it as the judgment of this court,” Justice Ekwo held.

Some of the charges are as follows: “That you, Processes and Industrial Developments Limited (Nigeria) being a company Incorporated in the  British Virgin Island, Process and Industrial Development (Nigeria) Ltd, Michael Quinn (deceased), Neil Hitchcock (deceased), and Brendan Cahill (at large) on or about the 11th day of January 2010 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this court with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain benefit to wit: Petroleum Product from the Federal Government of Nigeria by falsely representing to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, that Process Development Ltd was allocated land by the Cross River state government which representation you know to be false thereby committed an offence contrary to section 8(a) and punishable under section (1) (3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other Offences Act, 2006.

“That you, Processes and Industrial Developments Limited being a company incorporated in the British Virgin Island, Process and Industrial Developments (Nigeria) Limited, Michael Quinn (deceased), Neil Hitchcock (deceased) and Brendan Cahill (at large)   on or about the 11‘” of January, 2010 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired with certain officials of Nigerian Government to commit felony to wit: dealing in Petroleum Product without appropriate licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under section 1(17) of the same Act.

“That you, Process and Industrial Development Limited, being a company Incorporated in the British Virgin Island, Process and Industrial Developments (Nigeria) Limited, Michael Quinn (deceased), Neil Hitchcock (deceased) and Brendan Cahill (at large)  between January, 2010 and March 2013 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court attempted to deal in Petroleum product without appropriate licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(19) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under section 1(17) of the same Act,” among others.

While in count 10, the defendants were accused of concealing the sum of N1, 414, 955.50, thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2)(a) and punishable under section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No: 1 of 2012.