Nigerian senator charged for fraud

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - A Nigerian senator has been charged on a two-count charge of money laundering and fraud involving $2.2 million.

Peter Nwaoboshi, a senator from the country's oil-rich Delta state, was charged alongside two firms -- Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd -- which the anti-graft agency Economic and Financial Crimes Commission claimed are owned by the top politician.

On Wednesday, Nwaoboshi, who belongs to the opposition People’s Democratic Party, appeared before the federal high court in Lagos and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He was remanded in prison until Friday when the court will hear his bail plea.

The anti-graft agency said Nwaoboshi committed the crime between May and June 2014 when he acquired a $2.2 million property in the country’s commercial capital city Lagos.

At least $894,000 of the money “formed part of proceeds of an unlawful act”, according to the agency.

It claimed that the senator also violated the country's anti-money laundering laws in a transaction involving Suiming Electrical in May 2014.

Nwaoboshi, who had long been accused of corruption, was charged almost two weeks after he was arrested and detained for questioning.