The deceased and his company, Coastal Asia Investments Limited were arraigned before the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja by the EFCC on May 22, 2019, for attempting to defraud Polaris Bank Plc of €250 million.
They were docked on a five-count charge of fraud and obtaining by false pretences before Justice Mojisola Dada contrary to Section 8b 1 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006. He had pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, thereby prompting commencement of trial, which had seen the prosecution calling a witness.However, in the course of the trial, Richard reportedly died in prison custody, necessitating the need to amend the charges.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Friday, the EFCC counsel, E.S. Okongwu, informed the Court that the charges had been amended as ordered by the Court. Justice Dada adjourned the case to March 4, for the continuation of trial, as the defendant was not represented in court by a lawyer on Friday. BY OLUGBENGA SOYELE, Lagos