Brass Engineering Boss, Egwuche Gladys, arraigned over alleged $600,000 money laundering case

22

The Group Managing Director of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited, Mrs Egwuche Chinyere Gladys, has been arraigned in connection with an alleged $600,000 money-laundering case.

The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought her before Justice F. O. Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu State, on allegations bordering on abuse of office and the unlawful handling of public funds amounting to $600,000.

Gladys was arraigned alongside her company, Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited, on a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering.

According to the EFCC, one of the charges alleges that on March 13, 2023, in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, the defendants accepted a cash payment of $50,000 as part payment for a 180220TPH Granite Stone Crushing Line sold to Patan Nigeria Limited and Reinforce Global Resources Limited (JV). The commission alleged that the cash transaction exceeded the statutory threshold of N10 million and was conducted without passing through a financial institution, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Another count alleges that a similar cash payment of $50,000 was received on March 15, 2023, under the same circumstances, also in violation of the Act.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts.

Following her plea, counsel to the EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE II), Rotimi Enitan Ajobiewe, requested the court to fix a trial date and remand the defendant in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) pending trial.

However, defence counsel, Roy O. U. Nwaeze, SAN, informed the court that a bail application had already been filed. He subsequently moved the application and urged the court to admit his client to bail.

Justice Giwa-Ogunbanjo granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200 million, with two sureties in like sum. The court ruled that each surety must own landed property within the court’s jurisdiction. The judge also directed the defendant to deposit her international passport with the court’s Registrar and ordered the EFCC to verify the sureties’ addresses within seven days.

The case was adjourned until November 11, 2026, for trial.

According to the EFCC, investigations revealed that between March 13 and April 11, 2023, the defendant allegedly received cash payments of $50,000 in 12 separate tranches, bringing the total amount to $600,000. The commission alleged that the payments formed part of the purchase price for the 180220TPH Granite Stone Crushing Line sold to Patan Nigeria Limited and Reinforce Global Resources Limited, and that the transactions exceeded the statutory cash transaction limit of N10 million without being processed through a financial institution, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The allegations remain before the court, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.