A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted N500m bail to Akindele Akintoye, founder and chairman of Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited, over alleged fraud totalling $35m.
Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling on Wednesday, granted him bail with two sureties in like sum.
Akintoye was arraigned on December 24, 2024, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on four charges of money laundering and contract fraud.
The EFCC, in the charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/641/V/2024 and filed on December 19, alleged that Akintoye collected $35m from the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to build a 2000 barrel-per-day refinery, jetty, gas plant, data centre, and tank farm at Brass Free Trade Zone, Okpoama community in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
According to the EFCC, Akintoye received the sum of $35m for the project between December 2020 and February 2021 through the bank account of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited but failed to deliver the project
The court, on December 31, 2024, filed today (January 8) for a ruling on his bail application after listening to arguments from both parties for and against the bail application.
Counsel to the defendant, Emmanuel Esadio, while moving his bail application, stated he had met the requirements for bail and assured the court that his client would not jump bail if granted.
However, Martha Babatunde, representing the EFCC, opposed the bail application, stating that considering the weighty evidence against the defendant, she added that she was describing him as a flight risk.
Ruling on the bail application on Wednesday, Justice Nwite held that regardless of the allegations against him, he is still entitled to be granted bail, in the interest of justice.
The judge therefore committed him to bail with two sureties who must own a landed property within the jurisdiction of the court and deposit the court documents with the court registrar as well as provide their verifiable addresses.
The court also ordered that the defendant should deposit with the court registrar his international passports and two recent passport photographs.
The judge ordered both the prosecution and defence counsel to supervise and interview the proposed sureties before Akintoye was released on bail.
Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter until March 4 for commencement of trial.
