P&ID Directors Plead Guilty To Fraud In $9.6bn Contract

Two directors of the Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID), an Irish engineering company, have pleaded guilty before the Federal High Court in Abuja to charges of fraud and tax evasion instituted against them in respect of the contract leading to the recent controversial judgment of a British court empowering the firm to seize about $9.6bn worth of Nigerian assets.

YaahooJournalist reports that on Thursday, September 19, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arraigned P&ID Ltd, Virgin Island, its Nigerian affiliate, P&ID Nigeria Ltd on 11 counts of fraud and tax evasion.

Mohammad Kuchazi, the company’s Commercial Director, represented P&ID Ltd, Virgin Island while P&ID Nigeria Limited was represented by Adamu Usman, who is also a lawyer.

Kuchazi and Usman pleaded guilty to all the 11 counts read to them before Justice Inyang Ekwo on Thursday.

While Kuchazi was represented by his lawyer, Dandison Akurunwua, Usman, on the other hand, represented himself.

Kuchazi and Usman were accused of, among others, fraudulently claiming to have acquired land from the Cross River State Government in 2010 for the gas supply project agreement which led to the $9.6bn judgment.