Fugitive
businessman Mahmood Ahmadu on the run over the 2014 sham immigration
recruitment, has shut down three of his United Kingdom (UK) companies.
He resigned as a director of another
firm last week and brought in new directors for another one based in
Jersey, a UK-dependant outpost located on Channel Island.
Jersey is regarded as a tax haven and top offshore financial centre.
Ahmadu and his firm, Drexel Tech Global
Ltd, which coordinated the tragic recruitment exercise in March 2014,
have been charged before a court in Abuja by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the alleged misappropriation of the N676
million cash collected from 676,675 applicants “under false pretence”.
No fewer than19 job applicants died during the job recruitment fiasco.
Also charged with them are a former
Minister of Interior Abba Moro and a former Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry Mrs Anastatsia Daniel-Nwobia. Ahmadu is at large.
Mr Ahmadu filed for the strike-off one
month after the tragedy despite the commencement of a probe by the
Senate Committee on Internal Affairs. Mr Ahmadu never showed up
thoughout the probe.
Drexel Tech Global was Registered in June 2011 with a share capital of £1 (one pound sterling) and dissolved in August 2014.
The registered directors of Drexel
Tech Global are: Ahmadu, 49, Nigerian of 63 Dennis Osadebey Crescent,
Apo Legislative quarters, Abuja, Nigeria and Ms Theresa Mahoney, 51,
(American) of 6 Hitchcock circle, Simbury, Connecticut, USA, 06070.
Drexel Tech Global Company’s account was
filed as dormant in June 2012 and 2013 financial years and then
dissolved through voluntary strike off in August 2014 without a single
taxation paid to the UK government.
Another of Mr Ahmadu’s companies, Socket
Works Ltd and Socket Works Global Ltd registered in the UK in March and
April 2013, were also shut down soon after.
Socket Works Global Ltd was closed down in Oct 2014 and Socket Works Ltd in Feb 2015.
His other evasive attempt at operating
from behind the scene was not glamorous either. Mr Ahmadu replaced
himself and another Mrs Maryam Mahmood, 37, believed to be his wife, as
directors at Online Integrated Solutions Ltd UK with two other people.
He Resigned from Online Integrated Solutions Ltd only last week when the
EFCC hunt became public, while Mrs Mahmood left earlier last November.
Mr Ahmadu, has however kept alive his
interest in Gau Limited, which he registered in the Uk in Jan 2015 and
in A2A International Ltd, which was registered in Jersey, Channels
Island in 2012. But his interest is represented in the Jersey registered
company by Online Integrated Solutions Ltd.
On Tuesday the EFCC said “Moro,
Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia, F O Alayebami, Mahmood Ahmadu (at large) and
Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd allegedly defrauded a total of 676,675 Nigerian
applicants to the tune of N676,675,000, representing N1000 per applicant
through e-payment for their online recruitment exercise into the
Nigerian Immigration Service on 17th March 2013?.
“The accused are alleged to have
contravened the Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007 in the contract
awards by not following the necessary procedure laid down by the
government. The award of the contract to Drexel Tech Nig Ltd had no
prior advertisement, no needs assessment and a procurement plan was not
carried out before award of the contract.”
The matter has not been assigned to a judge.
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