Hearings continued in the N450m money laundering case against Muhammad Dele Belgore (SAN) on Friday, with the senior lawyer saying he made full accounts to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) how the fund released for the 2015 PDP presidential election campaign in Kwara State was spent.
Giving testimony in the 450m money laundering case against him and Professor Abubakar Suleiman, Belgore said he had supplied to the anti-graft agency all the information about who got what share of the money and the purpose it was meant for “as a matter of helping their investigations”.
He reiterated that the funds were meant to prosecute the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign in Kwara State.
He said at no time did the EFCC interview any of the people he had mentioned as having disbursed the money on the authority of the party, asserting that the claim that he disbursed any money is not factual.
“I deny the charges/counts in their entireties. The information that I gave to PW 2 (EFCC prosecutor) in my statement as to those who took possession, disbursed, and used the N450m which is the subject of these charges, was never pursued by PW 2,” Belgore said while being cross-examined by his counsel Ebun Sofunde (SAN).
“(The PW2) had information of who took the money and what it was used for and he did nothing about it. So I totally denied count one to nine. I told EFCC these persons were the ones who disbursed them. EFCC never interviewed any of these persons to confirm whether I ever gave them any money. My exhibit did state the names of those who collected the money from the bank but I never said I disbursed.”
Further hearings in the case have been adjourned to May 6.