Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State today forced Access Bank to shut down operations in the state. Fayose's extraordinary action came after bank officials prevented the wife of former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, from drawing funds from the flagged account.
According to Sahara Reporters, the account is part of the subject of the former
minister's ongoing prosecution for fraud at a Federal High Court in Lagos.
SR learned that officials concluded that an account opened at Access Bank by one "Sonia Chikwendu Precious," with account number 0024425113, was linked to money laundering. The account was flagged after security and anti-corruption agents determined that it was one of the several accounts into which another former minister, Esther Usman Nenadi, paid illicit funds.
EFCC sources told SR that Precious Chikwendu was used as a front to open two fake bank accounts at Diamond Bank and 15 bank accounts at Guaranty Trust Bank to launder funds for Fani-Kayode during a time he waxed strong as the chief propagandist for Jonathan's re-election bid in 2015.
Fani-Kayode is currently on trial for Multi-Billion Naira money laundering before a Federal High.
Precious Chikwendu, a key player in the former minister's money laundering operations, had used the Zenith bank account linked to Fani-Kayode to apply for her BVN. Agents said BVN checks showed that the woman had been employed by Fani-Kayode to execute several fraudulent transactions.
In 2015, Fani-Kayode purchased a Range Rover Sports SUV for the mother of his baby. An EFCC source said the car was a likely appreciation for the lady's role in laundering funds for him.
