EFCC WITNESS DETAILS HOW CHINESE NATIONAL ALLEGEDLY DEFRAUDED EMPLOYER OF OVER N700 MILLION

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

A prosecution witness and operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Bukar Mustapha Kirri, on Monday narrated before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, how a Chinese national, Zhengjia Jin, allegedly defrauded his employer, Golden Diamond Industrial Manufacturing Company Limited, of several hundreds of millions of naira through kickbacks, inflated invoices, and diversion of company funds.

Kirri, an Assistant Superintendent with the Commission and the sixth prosecution witness (PW6), told the court—while being led in evidence by EFCC counsel Chioma Chineye—that the anti-graft agency received a petition dated August 12, 2024, from one Frank Inibie on behalf of Golden Diamond. The petition accused the defendant and another staff member of monumental fraud within the company amounting to over ₦700 million.

According to him, the petitioners alleged that the first defendant colluded with vendors to divert company payments into his personal and third-party accounts. Acting on the petition, the EFCC invited the complainants, while Jin and other implicated staff were handed over for investigation.

“Upon receipt of the petition, we commenced investigation and wrote to Access Bank requesting the defendant’s account details,” Kirri said.
“The analysis of the account from July to August 12, 2024, showed a turnover of ₦466 million, mostly inflows from vendors dealing with Golden Diamond.”

The EFCC operative explained that several vendors were invited for questioning, and many admitted that the payments were made as kickbacks demanded by Jin in exchange for business patronage.

Kirri identified one Abdul Wahab, who allegedly paid over ₦56 million into Jin’s account, and another vendor, GTC Global, both confirming the payments were kickbacks.

He further revealed that part of the proceeds was used for personal and third-party transactions, including ₦24 million transferred to Linda-African Pride, and ₦2 million to Hassan Oladimeji, allegedly to track one Abubakar Adamu, who absconded with ₦39 million belonging to the defendant.

According to the witness, some vendors were instructed by Jin to pay directly to Adamu, while others paid into accounts belonging to Jin’s girlfriend and an associate, Emmanuel Ubu both of whom remain at large.

Kirri also told the court that documents submitted by the petitioners included fake invoices and company filings later confirmed by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to belong to non-existent companies.

Meanwhile, the defence counsel, Chief Emefo Etudo, objected to the admissibility of certain documents tendered by the prosecution, arguing that there were “mitigations” that corrupted the entire bundle of evidence.

Justice Oshodi, however, overruled the objection and admitted the documents in evidence. The judge also ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness and authenticity of the defendant’s extra-judicial statement.

Earlier in the proceedings, a businessman, Yomibi Shofolahan, who also does business with Golden Diamond, testified before the court, narrating how Jin allegedly delayed vendor payments and later demanded kickbacks.

He told the court that payment delays, which used to be two weeks, stretched to as long as five months under Jin’s watch, prompting vendors to protest. According to him, Jin once paid outstanding balances from his personal account before later demanding kickbacks through WhatsApp messages—threatening to use security operatives against him if he refused.

“He even sent a picture of a soldier attached to the company asking if I would transfer the money or not,” Shofolahan said.

Under cross-examination, the witness confirmed that while the company occasionally delayed payments, all legitimate payments were made strictly for goods supplied, and no previous procurement officer had ever demanded kickbacks.

Zhengjia Jin was arraigned by the EFCC on a three-count charge bordering on retention of stolen property, acceptance of kickbacks, bribery in the private sector, and stealing, contrary to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of Lagos State (2011 and 2015).

According to the charge sheet, Jin, while employed by Golden Diamond, dishonestly retained and accepted into his Access Bank account the sum of ₦301 million, alleged to be proceeds of kickbacks from vendors between March 5 and August 9, 2024, contrary to his company’s conditions of service.

The prosecution has so far called six witnesses in the matter.

Justice Oshodi adjourned the case until November 11, 2025, for continuation of the trial-within-trial.