Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of a Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday sentenced a former Managing Director of the defunct Integrated Microfinance Bank Limited, Mr. Simon Ademola Akintoye, to 36 years imprisonment for $166.9 million fraud.

The judge had on February 4, 2019 convicted Akintoye after he was found guilty of all the nine-count charge bordering on reckless granting of loans without collateral slammed on him by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Federal Ministry of Justice. Sentencing was consequently reserved till yesterday.

On that day, the court, however discharged and acquitted Akintoye’s deputy, Gabriel Adepoju, who was charged on a one-count charge of unlawful diversion of N22.250 million to a printing company, Gad Press Limited.

In her verdict yesterday, the judge, while agreeing with the defence lawyer that the convict was a first time offender with no past criminal records, was of the view that he had betrayed the trust of clients who deposited money in the bank. She consequently sentenced the convict to four years jail term on each of the nine-count charge preferred against him.

The court, however, gave him an option of fine of N2 million on each of the counts. The judge held that while the sentence was to run concurrently, the fine imposed would be cumulative.

The DPP in a charge sheet marked FHC/L/234c/16, said two bank chiefs recklessly, without collateral, approved credit facilities running into $166 million, and N33.250 million to themselves and Mrs. Temitope Muhammed Imam.

In the charge, the convict, Akinteye, was said to have at different times withdrawn from the bank’s account the total N11 million and diverted it into his personal company named ‘Deblad Nigeria Limited’.

He was also said to have unlawfully withdrawn $166 million and paid same to the account of Temitope Muhammed Imam, domiciled with Citi Bank N. A. of Utica/Clarkson, 702, Utica Avenue, Brooklyn New York, United States of America; and another account domiciled with Washington Mutual, 391, Eastern Parkway, Belford Avenue, New York, USA.