SunTrust Bank Executives Arraigned Over Alleged $12m Money Laundering
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of SunTrust Bank Ltd, Halima Buba, and the bank’s Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer, Innocent Mbagwu, were on Friday arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The duo face a six-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering amounting to $12 million, which the EFCC claims was carried out through unlawful cash transactions outside regulated banking channels, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
According to the EFCC’s statement, one of the charges alleges that on March 10, 2025, in Abuja, the defendants aided Femi Gbamgboye in making a $3 million cash payment to Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma and his associates—without passing through a financial institution.
Another count alleges that on March 13, 2025, Buba and Mbagwu conspired in Lagos to facilitate an additional $3 million cash payment to Mukhtar Miko, an associate of Chiroma, also bypassing legal banking procedures.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to all six charges when they were read out in court.
Prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, expressed readiness to proceed immediately with trial and sought an accelerated hearing. Meanwhile, the defence team led by J.J. Usman, SAN, urged the court to consider bail applications filed since May 27, 2025.
Oyedepo objected, arguing that the applications were procedurally defective, as they were filed before the defendants had been arrested or brought before the court—an act he said was contrary to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
Despite the objection, Justice Nwite granted ₦100 million bail each to the defendants, with the following conditions:
Each must produce one surety in like sum;
The surety must own landed property in Abuja;
Property documents, international passports, and two recent passport photographs must be submitted to the court;
All documentation and addresses must be verified by court officials.
Until these conditions are met, Buba and Mbagwu are to be remanded in a correctional facility.
The case has been adjourned to July 17 and 18, 2025, for trial continuation.
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