An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness Trinity Usman on Friday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he received and transferred $3 million into the account of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited, a company owned by Aisha Achimugu.
Mr Usman, who is the second prosecution witness (PW-2), testified before Justice Emeka Nwite in the ongoing trial of SunTrust Bank managing director Halima Buba and executive director/chief compliance officer Innocent Mbagwu.
The two bankers are standing trial on a six-count charge of money laundering to the tune of $12 million.
They were accused of aiding high-value cash transactions without routing them through a financial institution, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Buba and Mbagwu were arraigned on June 13 and pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The court granted them bail in the sum of N100 million each, with one surety in like sum.
While being led in evidence by EFCC counsel Ekele Iheanacho, Usman, a Bureau De Change operator, said he was contacted by one Suleiman Ciroma in April 2025 for a transaction involving $3 million to be transferred to Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited.
He said he used his company, Triple A and Tee Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited, to make the transfer after receiving the dollar payment in cash.
The witness told the court that the transfer was made in four tranches but he could not recall the exact dates.
When asked if he knew the defendants, Buba and Mbagwu, Usman said he did not know them personally.
He explained that the licence of his BDC company, Triple A and Tee BDC Limited, had been suspended at the time of the transaction, so he used his oil and gas firm’s account because it held available dollar funds.
Usman said the cash was collected from Ciroma through two of his staff members, Abdulkadir Mohammed and Kabir Haruna, adding that a related naira-to-dollar transaction was also conducted for Ciroma, with the naira equivalent transferred to Triple A and Tee Service Venture Limited.
During cross-examination, Usman confirmed that Triple A and Tee BDC Limited still operates and holds approval in principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He also admitted that he did not inform the defendants about the suspension of his BDC licence or that he used his oil and gas company account for the transfer.
He told the court that he made a profit from the transaction.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case to December 10 and 11 for continuation of trial after the witness was discharged.
Earlier, on Thursday, the first prosecution witness, Suleiman Ciroma, owner of Funnacle BDC Limited, testified that Achimugu requested the dollar transfer because cash deposits in banks would have restricted her ability to move the funds.
Mr Ciroma said the money was transferred into Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited’s account after his representatives collected cash from Achimugu’s aides.
He also confirmed that he never met or communicated with the defendants.
In September, Felak Group, the parent company of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas, denied any link between Achimugu and the $7 million forfeited to the federal government following a court order obtained by the EFCC.
The company described reports linking Achimugu to the forfeited funds as unfounded, stating that neither she nor her firm was involved in the transaction.
