The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday re-arraigned Petro Union Oil & Gas Company Limited and three of its directors before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke at the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged £2.556 billion fraud.
The defendants appeared on a 13-count amended charge involving conspiracy, forgery, and attempted fraud linked to a purported Barclays Bank cheque dated December 29, 1994. EFCC’s counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), requested the court to read the amended charges to the defendants, who all pleaded not guilty.
The defence counsel requested that the defendants be allowed to remain on their existing bail terms, a request the court granted. The trial was adjourned to June 26 and 27, 2025.
The defendants are Petro Union Oil & Gas Company Limited and three directors: Kingsley Okpala, Chidi Okpalaeze, and Emmanuel Okpalaeze. Another individual, Princess Gladys Okpalaeze, is also implicated but currently at large.
According to the EFCC, the defendants fraudulently procured and presented a Barclays Bank cheque for £2.556 billion, supposedly for investment in refinery and petrochemical infrastructure in Nigeria. They allegedly presented the cheque to Union Bank Plc and other financial institutions, fully aware that it was unlawfully obtained.
