The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned the Group Managing Director of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited, Egwuche Chinyere Gladys, over an alleged $600,000 money laundering case.
According to the EFCC, Gladys and her company appeared before Justice F. O. Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court in Enugu on a 12-count charge bordering on violations of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The anti-graft agency alleged that between March 13 and April 11, 2023, the defendant accepted 12 separate cash payments of $50,000 each, amounting to $600,000, without processing the funds through a financial institution as required by law.
Investigators said the payments were made as part of the purchase of a 180220TPH Granite Stone Crushing Line sold by Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited to Patan Nigeria Limited and Reinforce Global Resources Limited under a joint venture arrangement.
The EFCC maintained that the cash transactions exceeded the legal threshold for direct cash payments and therefore violated provisions of the Money Laundering Act.
Gladys pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Following her plea, the prosecution requested a trial date and asked the court to remand the defendant pending the hearing of the case.
However, the defence drew the court’s attention to an existing bail application and urged the judge to grant her bail.
Justice Giwa-Ogunbanjo subsequently admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of ₦200 million with two sureties in the same amount. The sureties must own landed property within the court’s jurisdiction, while the defendant was also ordered to surrender her international passport to the court registrar.
The court further directed the EFCC to verify the addresses of the sureties within seven days before adjourning the matter to November 11, 2026, for trial.
