The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday June 20, 2025, arraigned a
company, Quintessential Investment Company Limited, before Justice Dipeolu of
the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The company is being prosecuted on a two - count charge bordering on operating
collective investment schemes without a licence by the Central Bank of
Nigeria,CBN.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Quintessential Investment Company Limited,
sometime within January and December 2020 in Nigeria, within the Judicial
Division of this Honourable court, being a company incorporated in Nigeria,
failed to obtain a valid licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to
carry on your business of investment management and you thereby committed an
offence contrary to Section 57 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions
Act 2020 and punishable under Sections 57(5) of the same Act.”
A “not guilty” plea was entered for the company.
In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, Abdulhamid .L.Tukur, called on
Nnadikwu Izuchukwu Collins, an investigator with the EFCC, to review the facts.
Collins, in his review of the facts, stated that the Commission, between 2021
and 2022, received over 25 petitions from various investors, including one
Wisdom Odianosen Okoduwa, against the defendant, Quintessential Investment
Company Ltd., and its alter ego, Joshua Adeyinka Kayode.
According to him, “ the petitioners alleged that the defendant made
wide-range adverts in 2020 and 2021 calling on members of the public to
invest in his forex trading business, with a promise of 35% monthly return on
their investments.
“ Based on the defendant’s assurances, they cumulatively invested the total sum
of N1.2bn( One Billion, Two Hundred Million Naira) and $5,000.00 ( Five Hundred
Thousand United States Dollars).
Continuing, Collins said: “They further alleged that, at the maturity of their
investments, the return on investments and capital were never received. They
also alleged that the defendant had been evading all communications, hence they
wrote a letter of complaint to the Commission.”
In the course of investigations, letters of investigation activities were sent
to the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, banks, the Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, and the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, respectively.
He added: “ Responses were received from the above institutions and were
analyzed accordingly. The responses from the SEC and the CBN revealed that the
defendant, Quintessential Investment Company Limited, is not licensed to deal
in investment and forex trading business in Nigeria.
“Further analysis on the defendant’s account in United Bank of Africa, UBA,
revealed that the defendant received the total sum of N1, 195,646,432.25 ( One
Billion, One Hundred and Ninety-five Million, Six Hundred and Forty-six
Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty-two Naira and Twenty-five Kobo) and this
money was disbursed for personal use and paying back existing investors .
Counsel to the prosecution, thereafter, sought to tender, in evidence, the
statements from United Bank for Africa, the petition received by the EFCC from
a group of investors, investigation reports capturing other investors, banks’
statements, letters to the CAC, CBN, SEC and UBA and their responses.
Justice Dipeolu admitted and marked them as exhibits.
Justice Dipeolu adjourned the case till July 8, 2025 for cross-examination and
continuation of trial.
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