EFCC Arraigns BDC Operator Over Alleged N446.5m Fraud in Anambra
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Chidiebere Christian Okeke, and two companies linked to him over an alleged N446.5 million fraud before the Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State.
Okeke was arraigned alongside Paderlambs Investment Limited and Ishiugbo Nigeria Limited by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the EFCC before Justice Evelyn Anyadike on a three-count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining money by false pretence.
The defendant allegedly obtained N446,579,629 from Izuchukwu Okeke, Managing Director of Alphard Candy and Sons Limited, under the pretext of remitting the Renminbi (RMB) equivalent to his business partner in China.
According to the EFCC, the money was initially paid into the account of Nwadili David Chukwuka, who operates under the business name Ifeabata Ventures, before being transferred to the accounts of Paderlambs Investment Limited and Ishiugbo Nigeria Limited.
One of the charges alleged that Chidiebere and Paderlambs Investment Limited fraudulently obtained the money between October and November 2023 in Onitsha, Anambra State, after falsely claiming that the RMB equivalent had been transferred to the petitioner’s business partner in China.
Another count accused the defendant of allegedly forging telex documents purportedly issued by JCI General Trading Pty Limited, Brisbane, Australia, with the intention of presenting them as genuine.
The alleged offences contravene provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
However, Okeke pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following his plea, EFCC counsel, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Michael Ikechukwu Ani, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant at the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) facility in Awka.
Justice Anyadike subsequently adjourned the matter to November 19, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant remain in custody at the NCoS facility.
The EFCC disclosed that the defendant was handed over to the Commission by the Department of State Services (DSS) on October 30, 2024, following a petition by Izuchukwu Okeke.
The petitioner alleged that between September and November 2023, he entrusted the money to another BDC operator, Nwadili David Chukwuka, for onward transmission in RMB to his business partner in China.
Chukwuka reportedly informed him that the money had been handed over to Chidiebere for the transaction.
However, when confronted, the defendant allegedly admitted receiving the funds but failed to remit the money, opting instead to refund it through a cheque that was subsequently dishonoured.
