Wilben Trade Limited, a global merchant trading company in a bid to evade an on-going criminal liability proceeding in a Nigerian court has run to Remote Litigation Chamber in the UAE to file a $68 million legal claim against Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s (ETI) and its executives, including the CEO, ETI Specialised Resolutions Company (ETISRC), Ecobank Nigeria (ENG).
Sources that have full knowledge of the matter have dismissed the lawsuit as a manoeuvre by Marcus Wade and Wilben Trade to escape criminal charges related to fraud. They claim that Wade and Wilben Trade are under investigation in Nigeria for a Letter of Credit fraud scheme amounting to $42.5 million. Reports suggest that a warrant for Wade’s arrest has been issued, and Interpol is allegedly assisting in his potential extradition to Nigeria for trial.
A source from Ecobank also argue that the UAE lawsuit is an attempt to disrupt the ongoing legal proceedings, asserting, “Ecobank is not involved in their allegations of extortion or coercion. Moreover, our parent company, ETI, has not been part of the litigation.”
Ecobank Nigeria, in a petition to the Department of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja, revealed that two companies—Agrico Agbe Limited and Wilben Trade Limited, Dubai—had sought a loan in 2015 to import rice. However, Marcus Wade, Chairman of Wilben Trade Limited, along with Prem Garg and Devashish Garg (both of Indian nationality), were charged by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) for defrauding Ecobank Plc of $42,485,900. The alleged fraud involved a fake rice importation scheme from India to Nigeria.
Despite the ongoing charges, the defendants failed to appear in court for their plea hearings, leading the AGF’s office to request the issuance of bench warrants and potential extradition. These requests were approved by Justice Akintayo Aluko in November 2023.
However, the defendants, through their lawyers, Dele Belgore and Dr. Dada Awosika, SANs, filed motions to quash the arrest and extradition orders. The AGF’s lawyer, Mrs. Kehinde Bode-Ayeni countered these motions, asserting that the defendants’ actions lacked merit.
Justice Aluko ruled that the proceedings in the Magistrate Court in Delhi, India, could not halt the criminal case in Nigeria, as the Nigerian court is constitutionally empowered to proceed. He further clarified that an order of status quo from another court could not interfere with ongoing criminal charges.
In the charge marked FHC/L/562C/2022, counts one and four against the defendants showed that the plaintiffs had collected money from the bank but never showed up.
“That you, Prem Garg, Devashish Garg, both of Indian nationality, Agrico Agbe Limited (a company registered in Nigeria), Wilben Trade Limited, Dubai (a company registered in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai), Marcus Wade (Chairman of Wilben Trade Ltd, Dubai) of British nationality, sometime in the month of May and September, 2015 at Ecobank Plc, Lagos within the Jurisdiction of this honourable court conspired between yourselves to commit an offence thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 422 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004,” the charge reads.
“That you, Prem Garg, Devashish Garg both of Indian nationality, Agrico Agbe Limited (a company registered in Nigeria), Wilben Trade Limited, Dubai (a company registered in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai), Marcus Wade (Chairman of Wilben Trade Ltd, Dubai) of British nationality, sometime in the month of May and September, 2015 at Eco Bank Plc. Lagos thin the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired between yourselves to commit an offence to wit: Cheating in that you caused Ecobank Plc to deliver monies to the tune of $42,485,900 which was intended by contract for the purchase and import into Nigeria India Parboiled rice but never utilised the sum of money for the contract and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 421 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap, C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
But in a separate report, it was alleged that Ecobank attempted to coarse Wilben Trade into making substantial payments to Ecobank Nigeria (ENG) and ETI Specialized Resolutions Company (ETISRC), after Ecobank incurred a $42 million loss in transactions involving two other companies, Agrico Agbe Limited and Little Rose Trading LLC.
Wilben Trade, said it acted solely as an intermediary to discount Letters of Credit at Ecobank’s request, denies any involvement in the losses. The company alleges that Ecobank’s actions are part of a campaign of “extortion” aimed at recovering funds from an uninvolved party after failing to recoup losses from the original customers.
Marcus Wade and Wilben Trade’s legal representative, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe SAN, emphasized their commitment to seeking redress:
“In addition to taking action in Nigeria, our client is pursuing international legal action to address Ecobank’s abusive tactics and repair the ongoing damage caused to our client by Ecobank’s improper use of public institutions to pursue its baseless complaints against our client.”
Despite calls for dialogue to resolve the matter, Wilben Trade claims Ecobank has refused to engage constructively.
In conclusion, Justice Aluko dismissed the defendants’ applications, stating they had no merit. The case was adjourned for further proceedings, including a report on the bench warrant.
