I’m Not A Money Launderer – Prof. Ofoegbu
Charles Ofoegbu, a Professor of Exploration Geophysics and a Director at AZ Petroleum Products Ltd, was on Wednesday, February s20, 2013 allegedly arrested at the Lagos airport for not declaring the sum of $1.1 million. In this interview with ANDREW ESSEIN, he explains in detail what transpired between him and the law enforcement agents at the airport
An incident occurred that involved your person on Wednesday 20, 2013 where it was reported that you were travelling out of the country to Kenya with an undisclosed amount $1.1 million at the international wing of the Lagos airport. What exactly happened on that fateful day?
Of course, I travel to Kenya always because of our operations in that country. We are operating two oil blocks in Kenya, Block L1A and L3, we have just concluded negotiations for a third oil block, Block L25 which is all on record. On Block L3 and L1A, we have gone very far and at the moment, we are about concluding additional assessment surveys preparatory to drilling wells and I handle that project. I was on my way to Kenya quite alright; I had the sum of $1.1 million on me but it was not undisclosed. As soon as I arrived at the airport, I headed to the airport security and identified myself, identified the content of my bag and indicated I had some monies I wanted to declare in keeping with the laws of the land. I am educated enough to know what the laws of the land state concerning these cases. They referred me first to the NDLEA staff on ground and I asked him where they declare money because I have some money I needed to declare, I was referred to the Customs. I headed straight there and told them what I had on me, asked for the necessary documents in order to declare. They told me I had to fill some forms to which I was duly given; currency declaration forms. I filled it and another form before I was given a third one which they told me was mandatory for the amount of money I was carrying and I completed the forms. Nobody took me there; I went there on my own. I’m also aware that that is what the laws of the land say, that should you have more than $10,000 in your possession in cash or other precious materials when you are travelling, you should declare such on prescribed forms and I thoroughly declared the funds on the prescribed forms for the Customs and they sounded okay.
On my own, I said to them that I thought the EFCC were supposed to be involved in the declaration process. They invited the EFCC official who came and because of the amount involved, he wanted to know the source of the money and I provided it, which was already used in the declaration form issued by the Customs because the law states that you should provide the source of the money and the purpose for which the money is being taken and evidence that the money was acquired legitimately. I provided a letter from the Chairman of the board of AZ petroleum products confirming that they indeed own that money and that I was taking that money out to Kenya on behalf of the company. The letter stated clearly why they asked me to take that money, which is in connection with community relation efforts as well as the operations of the two oil blocks the company is operating in Kenya. They also provided me with the receipts for which they acquired the money. I made this available to the Customs which was also handed over to the EFCC. They asked to know if the money was paid for in cash or bank transfer and I told them that I wouldn’t know since I wasn’t in the position to answer that question. What I had was the receipts of the money and the evidence of the ownership of the money, the purpose for which the money was being taken, I also had with me the evidence of ownership of the oil blocks in Kenya. It was indeed a coincidence that I had the document for the meetings I was supposed to attend there in Kenya and so the EFCC man said that he had to confirm and verify that the Bureau de change actually existed and the way the money was paid for to which I obliged.
This process became protracted and I missed my flight, which was a late flight in the first instance. I finished with the EFCC and I headed to my hotel to sleep because there was no more flight and there was nothing else I could do. I had my passport and nobody ever withheld it at any time. My problem was the fact that I had missed my flight and I had a scheduled meeting for that day in Kenya and luckily the Kenyan people arranged another flight for me the next day for which I duly travelled. The EFCC finished whatever investigations they needed to do and handed over my money to me and the money was taken to Kenya for the purpose it was meant. It was even the EFCC people that told me that payment for the money was done through a bank, that no cash changed hands and that the company did everything very transparently. Every transaction relating to that money was done by bank transfers and not by cheque or cash. I was told to sign for the money confirming that I have collected my money back the same way I had given it to them.
Of course, I travel to Kenya always because of our operations in that country. We are operating two oil blocks in Kenya, Block L1A and L3, we have just concluded negotiations for a third oil block, Block L25 which is all on record. On Block L3 and L1A, we have gone very far and at the moment, we are about concluding additional assessment surveys preparatory to drilling wells and I handle that project. I was on my way to Kenya quite alright; I had the sum of $1.1 million on me but it was not undisclosed. As soon as I arrived at the airport, I headed to the airport security and identified myself, identified the content of my bag and indicated I had some monies I wanted to declare in keeping with the laws of the land. I am educated enough to know what the laws of the land state concerning these cases. They referred me first to the NDLEA staff on ground and I asked him where they declare money because I have some money I needed to declare, I was referred to the Customs. I headed straight there and told them what I had on me, asked for the necessary documents in order to declare. They told me I had to fill some forms to which I was duly given; currency declaration forms. I filled it and another form before I was given a third one which they told me was mandatory for the amount of money I was carrying and I completed the forms. Nobody took me there; I went there on my own. I’m also aware that that is what the laws of the land say, that should you have more than $10,000 in your possession in cash or other precious materials when you are travelling, you should declare such on prescribed forms and I thoroughly declared the funds on the prescribed forms for the Customs and they sounded okay.
On my own, I said to them that I thought the EFCC were supposed to be involved in the declaration process. They invited the EFCC official who came and because of the amount involved, he wanted to know the source of the money and I provided it, which was already used in the declaration form issued by the Customs because the law states that you should provide the source of the money and the purpose for which the money is being taken and evidence that the money was acquired legitimately. I provided a letter from the Chairman of the board of AZ petroleum products confirming that they indeed own that money and that I was taking that money out to Kenya on behalf of the company. The letter stated clearly why they asked me to take that money, which is in connection with community relation efforts as well as the operations of the two oil blocks the company is operating in Kenya. They also provided me with the receipts for which they acquired the money. I made this available to the Customs which was also handed over to the EFCC. They asked to know if the money was paid for in cash or bank transfer and I told them that I wouldn’t know since I wasn’t in the position to answer that question. What I had was the receipts of the money and the evidence of the ownership of the money, the purpose for which the money was being taken, I also had with me the evidence of ownership of the oil blocks in Kenya. It was indeed a coincidence that I had the document for the meetings I was supposed to attend there in Kenya and so the EFCC man said that he had to confirm and verify that the Bureau de change actually existed and the way the money was paid for to which I obliged.
This process became protracted and I missed my flight, which was a late flight in the first instance. I finished with the EFCC and I headed to my hotel to sleep because there was no more flight and there was nothing else I could do. I had my passport and nobody ever withheld it at any time. My problem was the fact that I had missed my flight and I had a scheduled meeting for that day in Kenya and luckily the Kenyan people arranged another flight for me the next day for which I duly travelled. The EFCC finished whatever investigations they needed to do and handed over my money to me and the money was taken to Kenya for the purpose it was meant. It was even the EFCC people that told me that payment for the money was done through a bank, that no cash changed hands and that the company did everything very transparently. Every transaction relating to that money was done by bank transfers and not by cheque or cash. I was told to sign for the money confirming that I have collected my money back the same way I had given it to them.
Meaning you were never at any point in time detained?
Never! I slept in Southern Sun Hotel, formerly Ikoyi Hotel, that night and the next morning, my passport is here to show I departed for Kenya. The departure and arrival stamps are on my passport for confirmation. It was while I was in Kenya that I was called and told about the things printed in the press because as far as I was concerned, nothing had happened. It is part of the delays one face in life, the most important thing was I was vindicated of not committing any offence and so I continued on my way to conduct my official assignment, only for me to start hearing stories. At my age and level, will I be laundering money for AZ Petroleum, a company that is worth more than most publicly quoted companies in this country, that has a yearly turnover of over a billion dollars a year? How then should that kind of company launder $1 million? How much does it cost to drill an oil well? It is over $10 million. The signature bonus attached to the oil block is even more than $1 million. Any company that operates an oil block wherever in the world can never be written off. Why then should an article be written linking laundering money with my kind of person? For the records Yes, I did travel with monies amounting to $1.1 million. Who owned the money? AZ Petroleum Limited. For what purpose? It was for use in connection with the oil blocks we operate in Kenya and we also have another oil block in Burundi. Was there an evidence confirming that the company gave me the money? Yes! There was a letter signed by the chairman of the company confirming that the monies belonged to the company but that I was authorised to travel with it on behalf of the company and I did declare the monies in all the prescribed forms in accordance with the laws of the land and I did provide evidence for the source of the money and AZ also provided all the receipts of how they acquired the money, which I carried while I was travelling which I presented it to the Customs. After all these processes, the EFCC handed over my money to me, even counted it so that I could be sure that it was not tampered with. I was given my money in the same wrapper and container in which I had presented them in the first place and I eventually travelled though I missed the flight on the day I was scheduled to travel, I eventually did the next day and the records are there to show.
The sad part of the whole story was that while I was there, someone came and told me to settle with one of their bosses and be eventually allowed to travel. I was furious! Why should I settle whereas I did not commit any crime? I went there myself, told the authorities what was in my possession and the purpose for which it was meant and then would I have to settle something? I bluntly told the man that it was not possible. He left me and the Customs and EFCC officials concluded their investigations and I eventually travelled. I was never caught and never detained at any point in time as published in the press. I have travelled in and out of the country since then unhindered.
Never! I slept in Southern Sun Hotel, formerly Ikoyi Hotel, that night and the next morning, my passport is here to show I departed for Kenya. The departure and arrival stamps are on my passport for confirmation. It was while I was in Kenya that I was called and told about the things printed in the press because as far as I was concerned, nothing had happened. It is part of the delays one face in life, the most important thing was I was vindicated of not committing any offence and so I continued on my way to conduct my official assignment, only for me to start hearing stories. At my age and level, will I be laundering money for AZ Petroleum, a company that is worth more than most publicly quoted companies in this country, that has a yearly turnover of over a billion dollars a year? How then should that kind of company launder $1 million? How much does it cost to drill an oil well? It is over $10 million. The signature bonus attached to the oil block is even more than $1 million. Any company that operates an oil block wherever in the world can never be written off. Why then should an article be written linking laundering money with my kind of person? For the records Yes, I did travel with monies amounting to $1.1 million. Who owned the money? AZ Petroleum Limited. For what purpose? It was for use in connection with the oil blocks we operate in Kenya and we also have another oil block in Burundi. Was there an evidence confirming that the company gave me the money? Yes! There was a letter signed by the chairman of the company confirming that the monies belonged to the company but that I was authorised to travel with it on behalf of the company and I did declare the monies in all the prescribed forms in accordance with the laws of the land and I did provide evidence for the source of the money and AZ also provided all the receipts of how they acquired the money, which I carried while I was travelling which I presented it to the Customs. After all these processes, the EFCC handed over my money to me, even counted it so that I could be sure that it was not tampered with. I was given my money in the same wrapper and container in which I had presented them in the first place and I eventually travelled though I missed the flight on the day I was scheduled to travel, I eventually did the next day and the records are there to show.
The sad part of the whole story was that while I was there, someone came and told me to settle with one of their bosses and be eventually allowed to travel. I was furious! Why should I settle whereas I did not commit any crime? I went there myself, told the authorities what was in my possession and the purpose for which it was meant and then would I have to settle something? I bluntly told the man that it was not possible. He left me and the Customs and EFCC officials concluded their investigations and I eventually travelled. I was never caught and never detained at any point in time as published in the press. I have travelled in and out of the country since then unhindered.
What is AZ Involved in as a company
AZ Petroleum Products is a subsidiary of a larger conglomerate, Chikason Group, and AZ is the flagship of the oil and gas business of the group. The group is also involved in mining, manufacturing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Primarily, I coordinate all special projects of the group, including mining, petroleum, oil and gas. AZ is also into trading with a number of tank-farms in Lagos, Port Harcourt and we are developing one now in Calabar and another in Thema, Ghana. The company has another manufacturing plant in Nnewi producing the AZ brand of lubricants, which is one of the largest in terms of volume, produced in this country and in the Up-stream part of the company. AZ has oil blocks in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Liberia and also has an office in Geneva. So by all intents and purposes, it is a major company though not very noisy. It is a major oil and gas company in this country though its operation is on a quiet mode. That is basically what the company is about.
AZ Petroleum Products is a subsidiary of a larger conglomerate, Chikason Group, and AZ is the flagship of the oil and gas business of the group. The group is also involved in mining, manufacturing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Primarily, I coordinate all special projects of the group, including mining, petroleum, oil and gas. AZ is also into trading with a number of tank-farms in Lagos, Port Harcourt and we are developing one now in Calabar and another in Thema, Ghana. The company has another manufacturing plant in Nnewi producing the AZ brand of lubricants, which is one of the largest in terms of volume, produced in this country and in the Up-stream part of the company. AZ has oil blocks in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Liberia and also has an office in Geneva. So by all intents and purposes, it is a major company though not very noisy. It is a major oil and gas company in this country though its operation is on a quiet mode. That is basically what the company is about.
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