The Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has revealed how an ex-coordinating Director of Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Peter Hena, collected over N700 million cash between January 2017 and December 2018.
The anti-graft agency investigation showed that Hena and eight other compliance shared N4.5 billion in illegal estacodes and swindling Duty Tour Allowances.
Last Thursday, the Commission had arraigned Hena on 42-count in Abuja Federal High Court before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu.
Also arraigned with Hena were the Director of Finance, Mohammed Auta; Amina Sidi (Finance and Account Department); Umar Aduka (Internal Audit); Mbura Mustapha (Deputy Manager); Obi Malachy (Services Group); Obaje Adofu (Head of Budget); Udo-Inyang Alfred (Officer II) and Benjamin Jiya (Assistant Director).
A copy of the charge made available to newsmen by EFCC showed how the defendants shared N4.5bn among themselves.
The FIRS coordinator director, Hena, collected N45 million cash from Auta without using a financial institution which contravenes section 1(a) and punishable under section 16(2) (b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act,2011 as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012.
EFCC probing of Hena further revealed that he took another N75m cash payment from one Mbura and N99m from Okeke.
Count six of the charge says, “That you, Peter Hena, while being Co-coordinating director in the Federal Inland Revenue Service between January 2017 and December 2018 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did accept N127m from Benjamin Jiya which exceeded N5m without going through a financial institution contrary to section 1(a) and punishable under section 16(2) (b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act,2011 as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012.”
The first defendant also claimed to have collected cash up to the sum of N145m from Sidi in the FIRS Finance and Accounts department.
Further investigation reveals that Hena had also taken N92m cash from Aduku and another N128.6m from Auta, who was in possession of N258.6m from other FIRS officials.
The EFCC uncovered that Auta while serving as finance director, kept N85m to himself “under the guise that the funds were for stakeholders” when he was aware that the fund is a proceed of unlawful activities, fraud, corruption, and criminal allocation of public funds.
Under the guise of duty allowance, Aduku had transferred N200m to Hena and paid N97.1m into his own GT bank account with the account number 0023004712.
