Kingsley Ifeanyi Adonu, a telecom entrepreneur and alleged Ponzi scheme operator has been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged money laundering.
Adonu is standing trial on a five-count charge relating to money laundering involving over ₦10 billion before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
According to the charge sheet, Adonu is accused of knowingly taking possession of more than ₦10 billion suspected to be proceeds of illegal activity, specifically stealing.
The funds were allegedly channeled through multiple bank accounts: ₦1.73 billion via Fidelity Bank Plc, ₦6.79 billion through Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, ₦959 million via First City Monument Bank Plc, and ₦530 million through Zenith Bank Plc.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Adonu Kingsley Ifeanyi, between 4th June, 2021 and 23rd July, 2021, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did take possession of the total sum of ₦1,076,337,842 (One Billion, Seventy-Six Million, Three Hundred and Thirty-Seven Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty-Two Naira) through a bank account with account name ‘S.Mobile Netzone Limited’ domiciled in Fidelity Bank Plc., which sum you knew forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: stealing, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.”
Count two states that between June 2 and July 14, 2021, Adonu took another ₦656.4 million through the same Fidelity Bank account, also suspected to be criminal proceeds.
Count three accuses him of receiving ₦6.79 billion between January 15, 2021, and April 14, 2022, via a Guaranty Trust Bank account registered to S.Mobile Netzone Limited, which the EFCC believes was used to launder illicit funds.
In count four, it is alleged that between March 23 and July 26, 2022, Adonu moved ₦959 million through a First City Monument Bank account in the same company’s name, funds also suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Count five cites that between March 15 and March 31, 2022, ₦530 million was moved through a Zenith Bank account operated under Setbiz Datalink Concept Limited. The funds are believed to have been stolen.
The offences, according to the EFCC, contravene Section 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), and are punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.
Adonu pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges when they were read to him in court.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel, S.I. Suleiman, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) pending trial.
However, defence counsel Chibuike Opara appealed to the court to allow Adonu remain in EFCC custody pending the filing and determination of a bail application.
Suleiman objected, arguing that the appropriate place for a defendant after arraignment is the correctional centre.
Justice Aneke subsequently ordered that Adonu be remanded at the Ikoyi facility of the Nigerian Correctional Services and adjourned the matter to July 4, 2025, for the hearing of his bail application.