EFCC Arrests Two Over $240,000 Illegal Cash

Moghalu Maduakonam

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC ), has separately arrested two men, Moghalu Maduakonam and Esho Femi David, for attempting to smuggle $240,000 out of the country.
The commission said in a statement that the arrests were made on January 23 at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.   Maduakonam was travelling to Dubai, United Arab Emirates with $200,000.00, which he failed to declare; while David, who was travelling to Istanbul, Turkey, declared only $5,000 out of $40,050 in his possession.
In a related issue, the EFCC said that a Federal High Court sitting Abuja, presided over by Justice Adamu Bello, on Wednesday convicted one Mallam Abulrasheed Ibrahim on charges of money laundering. 
According to the EFCC, Ibrahim was arrested on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 by operatives of the commission as he prepared to board a Dubai, United Arab Emirates-bound Ethiopian airline, at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport.  He had declared the sum of $45,000, but a search revealed an additional $143,858.
Justice Adamu Bello ruled that 25% of the total sum, which is $188,858, be forfeited and paid into the Federal Government Treasury by the court accountant, and the remaining money returned to the convict through his counsel.