By Matthew Ogune, Abuja
The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday, July 19, 2024, arraigned one Rufus John Isip, a self-acclaimed forex broker, before Justice C. S. Onah of the Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Isip was arraigned alongside his company, ITM-IT Resources Limited, on an eight-count bordering on fraudulent conversion, money laundering, and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N2,022,081,172.
Count one of the charge read: “That you, Rufus John Isip, while being the Director of ITM-IT Resources Limited and ITM-IT Resources Limited, sometime in December 2020 and May 2021 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of (431,331,172.00) Four Hundred and Thirty-One Million, Three Hundred and Thirty-One Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy-Two Kobo from one Michael Okon, the Director of N-Rex Resources Limited, under the false pretence that it is an investment in Vandera, an online investment platform, on his behalf, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
Count eight of the charge read: “That you, Rufus John Isip, while being the Director of ITM-IT Resources Limited and ITM-IT Resources Limited, sometime between December 2020 and May 2021 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, converted the total sum of (N730,870,000.00) Seven Hundred and Thirty Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira to cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) and transferred same into your Binance Wallet knowing that the said money formed part of your unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2011 and punishable under Section 15 (3) (4) of the same Act”.
He pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him.
In view of his plea, Khamis Mahmud, counsel to the EFCC, prayed the court to remand him in EFCC custody on the grounds that “we are still investigating him on other cases”.
The defence counsel, Samson Ewuje, however, did not pose any objection.
Justice Onah adjourned the matter to October 14, 2024, for trial, and the defendant was remanded at the Uyo Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.
Isip was arrested based on a petition from one Michael George, alleging that he lured him to invest in his online trading platform called Vandora.io.
According to the petitioner, the defendant told him that it was more profitable to trade on his platform with a minimum trading capital of $100,000 and that he would earn more profit if he involved more investors.
The petitioner thereafter invested, reached out to other investors and companies who also invested in the defendant’s phoney online trading platform, and after 60 days (as agreed) for the investors to start earning their profits, the defendant disappeared into thin air.
