By Miriam Humbe
The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned one Egwuche Chinyere Gladys, Group Managing Director of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited before Justice F. O. Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu State, for alleged abuse of office and embezzlement of public funds to the tune of $600, 000 (Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).
Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity disclosed this in a statement.
Gladys was arraigned alongside a company, Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited on a twelve-count charge bordering on money laundering.
Count one of the charges reads: “That you, Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited and Mrs. Egwuche Chinyere Gladys, while being the Group Managing Director of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited on the 13th of March, 2023 at Abakaliki, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, accepted cash payment of $50, 000 (Fifty Thousand United States Dollar), being part payment for a 180220TPH Granite Stone Crushing Line you sold to Patan Nigeria Ltd and Reinforce Global Resources Ltd (JV) which exceeded the statutory required threshold of N10, 000, 000. 00 (Ten Million Naira) without passing through a financial institution and in violation of this provision, you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 2 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19 (2) (b) of the same Act”.
Count three of the charges reads: “That you, Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited and Mrs. Egwuche Chinyere Gladys, while being the Group Managing Director of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited on the 15th of March, 2023 at Abakaliki, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, accepted cash payment of $50, 000 (Fifty Thousand United States Dollars), being part payment for a 180220TPH Granite Stone Crushing Line you sold to Patan Nigeria Ltd and Reinforce Global Resources Ltd (JV) which exceeded the statutory required threshold of N10, 000, 000. 00 (Ten Million Naira) without passing through a financial institution and in violation of this provision, you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 2 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19 (2) (b) of the same Act”.
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
In view of her plea, counsel to the EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Rotimi Enitan Ajobiewe prayed the court for a trial date to enable the prosecution to prove its case and for the defendant to be remanded at the facility of the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS in Enugu.
However, the defence counsel, Roy O. U. Nwaeze, SAN, informed the court about a pending bail application before it, moved it and prayed the court to grant bail to his client.
Justice Giwa-Ogunbanjo thereafter granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200, 000, 000. 00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) with two sureties in like sum. Each of the sureties must have a property within the jurisdiction of the court.
The Court equally ordered the defendant to deposit her international passport with the court’s Registrar and EFCC to verify the addresses of the sureties within seven days.
The matter was adjourned to November 11, 2026 for trial.
The defendant, whilst being the Group Managing Director of Brass Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited, allegedly accepted cash payment of $50, 000 (Fifty Thousand United States Dollar)s, in 12 tranches between March 13, 2023 and April 11, 2023, totaling $600, 000 (Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollar).
The said cash payment, allegedly, was part payment for a 180220TPH Granite Stone Crushing Line, the defendant and her company sold to Patan Nigeria Limited and Reinforce Global Resources Limited, which exceeded the statutory required threshold of N10, 000, 000. 00 (Ten Million Naira), as it did not pass through a financial institution.
