Abuja High Court Grants Tunde Ayeni N200 Million Bail In Alleged N15.7bn Fraud Trial

Abuja High Court Grants Tunde Ayeni N200 Million Bail in Alleged N15.7bn Fraud Trial An Abuja High Court has granted former Skye Bank chairman Tunde Ayeni bail in the sum of N200 million over allegations of fraud involving about N15.7 billion, in a case brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC.

Justice Jude Onwuzuruike of the Federal Capital Territory High Court delivered the ruling on Monday after Ayeni pleaded not guilty to a 17-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, and diversion of investors’ funds.

• Two sureties in the sum of N200 million each
• Sureties who are federal civil servants
• Valid national identity documents
• Letters of employment
• Evidence of landed property valued at no less than N500 million each In addition, the judge directed that one of the sureties must undertake to provide a bank guarantee worth N15 billion.Pending the fulfillment of the bail conditions, the court ordered that Ayeni remain accessible to his legal team while in custody.According to the EFCC, Ayeni allegedly diverted and misappropriated funds while serving as chairman of the board of the defunct Skye Bank Plc. Prosecutors claim the transactions involved billions of naira belonging to investors and depositors.

One of the charges alleges that Ayeni dishonestly diverted more than N3.2 billion from the bank’s suspense account between October and November 2014. The anti-graft agency arraigned him earlier this month after filing a 17-count charge against him. Ayeni’s lead counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Dele Adesina, argued that the former bank chairman had earlier been granted administrative bail by the EFCC before the court ordered his remand.

• The offences are bailable
• Ayeni is presumed innocent until proven guilty
• There was no evidence he would interfere with investigations or flee trial Justice Onwuzuruike agreed that the prosecution’s argument that Ayeni could influence proceedings remained speculative and insufficient to deny bail.Court proceedings also revealed that Ayeni had faced earlier prosecution by the EFCC in 2019 alongside former Skye Bank managing director Timothy Oguntayo over related allegations.That earlier matter was eventually settled out of court after terms agreed by the parties received approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria and were adopted as a consent judgment. The trial is one of Nigeria’s most closely watched financial crime cases involving a former top banking executive. Analysts say the proceedings could test
• The EFCC’s handling of high-profile corruption cases
• Accountability within Nigeria’s banking sector
• Judicial standards for granting bail in financial crime trials
• Public confidence in anti-corruption enforcement

The case has been adjourned for continuation of trial proceedings later this year.