A.G Moeller supplied faulty diesel engine vehicles, witness tells court

A prosecution witness in the trial of Kemi Adeloye, Managing Director of A.G. Moeller Limited, Godsday Chukwusa has informed a Federal High Court, Lagos that the 40 units of buses supplied to Cross Country Limited by the accused and his firm were faulty and a diesel engine which the firm is not used to.

   He was testifying before Justice Okon Abang. Chukwusa who was former Chief Accountant of the Cross Country insisted that the cars which resulted in the friction “were not doing well”. He said: “The 40 buses could not at the initial stage be deployed. They have technical problems – breaking down on the roads. They were diesel engines which Cross Country was not used to.” 

   He revealed that a total payment of about N223m out of the N228m transaction was paid by Car Link, a subsidairy of Cross Country  around August 2010 to AG Moeller. He stated that there were delays due to the problems of breaking down of vehicles, adding that an additional interest of N19.8m was also paid but A.G Moeller rejected it.

   Justice Abang after listening to the witness, adjourned further proceedings to February 19.

At an earlier sitting, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ben Okoro had informed the court that the accused person and his company were investigated for allegedly running an illegal finance house that was neither licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) nor registered by the Finance Houses Association of Nigeria (FHAN).

   The witness equally notified the court that the MD and his company allegedly fraudulently

obtained under false pretense the  sum of N80m from the transport company between March 2007 and January 2010.

   Cross Country Limited had sometime in March 2007 written a Finance Lease request letters to the defunct Oceanic Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, EBN Finance Limited (a subsidiary of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc) and AG. MOELLER for finance lease facilities for various acquisitions of motor vehicles.

   The transport company also said AG Moeller Limited offered it the sum of N140million to finance the acquisition of 40 units of Volkswagen transport buses for commercial use.

According to Cross Country, AG Moeller like the banks and finance houses, replied via an Offer of Finance Lease Facility letter dated March 29 2007, approving the request sum of N140 million for a tenor of 24months at 60% interest rate per annum.

Cross Country Limited further confirmed that it had paid a total sum of N223m against N228m payable, adding that the total outstanding due, including the difference in what was paid, added to default charges stood at N19.8m.

   But AG Moeller, wrote a demand letter requesting to be paid an outstanding sum of N213m being the self-claimed outstanding balance as against N19.8m confirmed to be rightly due.

However, Cross country counter petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for proper investigation into the claims of AG Moeller Limited.

   According to the firm, the police discovered during investigation that AG Moeller had acted like a licensed finance company by the Central Bank of Nigeria and a member of Finance Houses Association of Nigeria and should not have indulged in any business of such with Cross Country Limited in the first place.

   But on receipt of the response from the CBN with reference number “ Our Ref: OFID/GDB/GEN/FIN/01/535 denying ever licensing AG Moeller for such business activities via the CBN letter dated May 23, 2011 and Finance Houses Association of Nigeria letter dated March 4th 2011 that the Nigerian Police resolved to Charge AG Moeller and its promoters on a five count charge before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi.

   The charge reads: “That you Adeloye Richard Olukemi ‘M’and others at large on the 29th day of March, 2007 at No. 2 Ebun Street, Surulere, Lagos State in the Lagos Judicial Division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit offence to wit: transacting financial business without a valid license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and thereby committed an offense punishable under section 517 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

   “That you Adeloye Richard Olukemi ‘M’ between March, 2007 and January 2010 at the same place in the aforesaid Judicial Division with intent to defraud did obtain the sum of Eighty Million Naira from one Bube Okorodudu, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cross Country Limited in excess of the capital sum of One hundred and forty million naira (N140m) advanced to him through the medium of a contract of finance lease facility induced by false pretense and thereby committed an offense contrary to section 1 (a-c) & section 1(2) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud & other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.”