The House of Representative member from Rivers State, Chinyere Igwe, who was arrested with 498,100 dollars before the presidential and national assembly elections, has been arraigned in a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Wednesday.
The court is presided over by Justice Stephen Daylop-Pam.
The charge sheet dated March 6, 2023, read, “That you Hon. Chinyere Igwe ‘m’ on the 24th day of February 2023 at about 01:35hrs at No. 181 Aba Road, by GRA Junction, Port Harcourt within the Port Harcourt Magisterial District did accept cash payment of $498,000 USD which you which you have in your possession and did not make a report to the Central Bank of Nigeria and did not declare its transportation to the Nigerian Customs Service and thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 1 (a), (1) (2) (3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 and punishable under Section 2 (5) of same Act.”
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However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge against him by the police.
Neptune Prime reports that Chinyere Igwe, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 2 in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, was arrested with 498,100 dollars on Friday, February 24 along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, a day before the presidential and national assembly elections.
The police said the suspect was apprehended close to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with a list for the distribution of the money.
