Court Convicts Kano BDC Operator for Forex Fraud

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A Bureaux De Change (BDC) operator in Kano State, Mr Salisu Alhassan, has been convicted by Justice Nasiru Saminu of the Kano High Court for a foreign exchange (forex)-related fraud.

The convict, a director of Tankarawa Bureau De Change Limited in Kano, was sentenced by the judge after he was found guilty of using a customer’s money for personal use.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Kano BDC operator for converting the N7.1 million he was given for forex trading for his use.

He was brought before the court on a two-count charge of criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of funds.

“That you, Salisu Alhassan, being the director of Tankarawa Bureau De Change Limited, sometime in 2018 or thereabout at Kano State, within the jurisdiction of this court, did dishonestly convert to your personal use the sum of N7.140 million, property belonging to one Bala Ahmad Hamisu and that the said sum will be used in investing in forex (foreign exchange) businesses which representation you knew same to be false and thereby committed a criminal breach of trust, an offence contrary to Section 311(a) and punishable under Section 312 of Penal Code Law,” one of the charges read.

When the charges were read to him, Mr Alhassan pleaded guilty to them, upon which prosecution counsel, Zarami Muhammad, reviewed the facts of the case and urged the court to convict him as charged. The defence counsel Chief I.C Ekpunobi, however, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.

After reviewing the matter, Justice Saminu on Thursday, August 27, 2020, convicted and sentenced the defendant to two years imprisonment on each count with N150,000 option of fine on each of the counts.

Besides the prison term, the convict is also to refund the sum of N5.350 million to his victim, failure of which he shall serve additional two years prison term.