Justice Rahman Oshodi of an Ikeja Special Offences Court will on June 2 and 3, 2025, deliver rulings on the bail application filed by one, Friday Audu, a businessman accused of orchestrating a complex financial fraud involving $2.6 million in cryptocurrency and N3.5 billion in cash.

Audu and his now-defunct company, Genting International Limited, are standing trial on a seven-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In the charge, the defendants were accused of conspiracy, forgery, unlawful retention of proceeds of crime, and possession of fraudulent documents.

According to the charge sheet dated April 15, 2025, the EFCC alleged that Audu and Genting International Limited conspired to retain illicit proceeds in two cryptocurrency wallets: $1,262,000 USDT in a Binance wallet and $1,300,203 USDT in a BYBIT wallet. Additionally, N3.5 billion was allegedly traced to the company’s account in a financial institution.

The prosecution further accused the defendants of forging a document titled Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) Declaration Form, purportedly signed by one, Baffale Yakubu, in a bid to conceal the origins of the funds.

At the last hearing of the matter, counsel for the EFCC, Bilikisu Buhari-Bala, informed the court that Genting International Limited, the second defendant, had no legal representative present in court.

She noted that the company had ceased operations, and that service of the charges was carried out by pasting them at its last known address, in line with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) records. Although a lawyer claiming to represent the company was present, he admitted that he had not been adequately briefed.

The prosecution then requested that a not-guilty plea be entered on the company’s behalf under Section 257 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL), which the court granted.

In his submissions, defence counsel, Dr Muiz Banire (SAN), urged the court to grant bail to Audu, arguing that similar charges had been filed against his client at the Federal High Court, where bail was previously granted. He supported his motion with a further affidavit.

However, the EFCC opposed the bail application, contending that the present case differs substantially from the earlier one. The prosecution argued that while the Federal High Court case involves cyberterrorism and mutual legal assistance (MLA) procedures, the present charges center on document forgery and financial crimes.

Buhari-Bala also questioned the credibility of the defence’s affidavit, pointing out that it was deposed to by a litigation clerk who allegedly gathered details from Audu’s driver, an account the EFCC claims is fictitious, citing prison records showing Audu had no visitors on the date in question.

The alleged offences violate several laws, including Sections 328, 365, and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, as well as Sections 6 and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.