Nwachukwu Ifeanyi has been sentenced to six months in prison for currency racketeering by Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Enugu State.
Nwachukwu was arrested on February 9, 2024, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for selling new naira notes from his shop in Owerri, Imo State.
He was subsequently prosecuted on an amended one-count charge, bordering on currency racketeering to the tune of N500,000.00 (five hundred thousand naira).
The charge reads: “That you, Nwachukwu Ifeanyi, sometime in February 2024, at Douglas Road, Owerri, Imo State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, hawked the total sum of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000.00) mints in five hundred naira (N500) denominations, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and thereby committed, an offence contrary to Section 21 (4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 21 (1) of the same Act.”
This case highlights the EFCC’s efforts to combat currency racketeering and financial crimes in Nigeria.
Recall that in June 2024, Onuigbo Chibuzor, also in Enugu, was convicted and sentenced for hawking new naira notes.
