Mr. Elijah Adegboye, a compliance officer at Access Bank Plc, appeared as a witness on Monday in the trial of social media celebrity Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, who is facing charges of laundering six billion Naira.

Mompha was absent during the proceedings on Monday.

Adegboye, led in evidence by Mr. Suleiman Suleiman, the counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), informed the Ikeja Special Offences Court that the bank had received a letter from the EFCC regarding an investigation into the alleged money laundering.

The witness stated that in compliance with the EFCC’s request, the bank provided the anti-graft agency with the requested documents.

Adegboye identified the bank’s response to the EFCC, which included a bundle of documents, including the statement of account of Naptown Records.

“I confirm that the various entries stated in this statement of account are as contained in the bank’s database. The process of producing this document follows the normal process of business, and the computer and printer used were in a functional state at the time the documents were generated,” he said.

The EFCC counsel applied to tender the bundle of documents as evidence, to which Justice Mojisola Dada admitted the document following no objection from the defense counsel, Mr. Kolawole Salami.

During cross-examination by Salami, the witness confirmed that he was a compliance officer at Access Bank with over a decade of experience and that the bank engaged in lawful business as a lawful corporate organization.

It was previously reported that the prosecution had informed the court on May 15 that Mompha had been arrested in collaboration with international partners.

On September 21, 2022, the court ordered the commencement of the trial in absentia after Mompha failed to appear before the court.

Mompha and his company, Ismalob Global Investment Ltd., were arraigned by the EFCC on January 22 on eight counts of money laundering.

The court issued a bench warrant for Mompha’s arrest on June 22 following his absence in court, and Justice Dada also revoked his bail.

The defendant was also absent from court on June 16.

On June 10, the EFCC accused him of violating the court’s order by traveling to Dubai with a new international passport.

The charges against Mompha include conspiracy to launder money obtained through unlawful activities, money laundering, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, use of property derived from an unlawful act, possession of a document containing false pretenses, and failure to disclose assets.

The case was adjourned until September 18 for the continuation of the trial.