A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited founder and chairman Akindele Akintoye to be held in Kuje correctional facility over allegations of diverting $26 million meant for a Brass refinery project in Bayelsa State.
Justice Emeka Nwite issued the remand order on Tuesday after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Akintoye on four counts of financial fraud. The case has been adjourned until December 31, 2024, pending his bail application hearing.
The EFCC’s charges, filed on December 19, implicate Akintoye alongside Platform Capital Investment Partners Limited and Duport Midstream Company Limited, where he serves as managing director and CEO. According to the anti-graft agency, Akintoye and Platform Capital allegedly retained $16 million between December 2020 and February 2021, and used another $9 million, both sums allegedly converted from funds provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The investigation revealed that NCDMB had released $35 million as investment capital for the Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited project, with ownership structured as a 60-40 split between Akintoye and NCDMB respectively. Akintoye was expected to contribute an additional $15 million to the project.
Prosecutors allege that Akintoye moved the $35 million to a separate account where he was the sole signatory and subsequently transferred the funds to various company accounts and other destinations. The defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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