N3bn fraud: Court adjourns Elixir arraignment to October 9
By Philemon Adedeji
The absence of the counsel to Elixir Asset Management Limited, Elixir Investment Partners Limited along with two of their Directors Clara-Bittinger Mshelia-Whyte and Sarah Ogbemudia has stalled the arraignment of the accused persons.
The case was subsequently adjourned to October 9th, 2023 for arraignment.
They had been dragged before the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on allegations of fraud to the tune of over N3billion.
When the matter came up before Justice Yelim Bogoro of Court 5, the court was informed that the counsel to the defendants was unavoidably absent due to Ill health.
The Presiding Judge, apparently displeased that the counsel to the accused did not formally inform the court of his ill health described his actions as discourteous to the court and subsequently adjourned the case to October 9,2023 for arraignment.
Bogoro said, “That is not a very good presentation that the counsel will not reach out to the court. Their counsel is supposed to be here to defend them. He cannot stay in Abuja and claim he has stomach upset. The defence has not written to court that he is ill which is doscoutous to court . I will adjourn this matter till 9th October and he should ensure that he is in court on that date”.
During the last adjourned date, the defendant, Mshelia-Whyte and Ogbemudia failed to honor the court invitation, which made Justice Bogoro to grant the wish of the counsel from the office of the Attorney General Moshood Adeyemi, to issue the defendants criminal sermon and set a date for the next appearance for July 11, 2023.
In a four count charge brought against the companies and their promoters by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, they are accused of offering for subscription an unregistered product ‘Elixir Treasury Product’ valued at over N3b to the investing public including Toyota Nigeria Ltd, Kaduna Industrial and Finance Company and others.
According to the charge, the defendants are alleged to have committed a felony to wit: with the common intent conspired among themselves together with Samuel Aikhonbare, Christopher Edordu and their other staff to do an illegal act by luring the investing public including Toyota Nigeria Limited and others by offering them an unregistered product called ‘Elixir Treasury Product’ and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of Criminal Code Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The defendants are also alleged to have conspired among themselves to do an illegal Act- diversion of Investment funds belonging to the investing public including Toyota Nigeria Limited, Kaduna Industrial and Finance Company and others and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of Criminal Code Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
“That you Elixir Investment Partners Ltd and Clara-Bittinger Mshelia-Whyte both of No. 95 Medical Guild Close, V/I Lagos on or between the year 2019 and 2021 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did commit a felony to wit: diversion of investment funds to the tune of N3,213,700,150 belonging to the investing public including Toyota Nigeria Limited, Kaduna Industrial and Finance Company and others. You thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 383 (2) (f) of Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under Section 390 (7) of the same Act,” the Charge stated.
