The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared British citizen of Indian descent, Mr. Deepak Khilnani wanted. This was after he reportedly failed to appear in court to answer charges of several counts of fraud and money laundering.
In a suit filed in the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos on last 18th October, the EFCC charged Khilnani and a company in which he has interest with conspiracy to alter and file at Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja fraudulent resolution on allotment of shares…”. The charges also included “forgery of the signatures of (names withheld) contained on a Take Over Certificate with intent that it may be acted upon as genuine”.
Khilnani had been under EFCC’s investigation since 2017, during which time the 63- year-old businessman allegedly tried different ways to avoid investigation and arraignment. Sources said that, at one time, he jumped administrative bail, left for the United Kingdom, and failed to honour the EFCC’s invitations.
The anti-corruption agency eventually placed the fugitive on their Watchlist at all Nigerian ports of entry. When he returned in January 2018, an unsuspecting Khilnani was said to have been promptly detained at Lagos Murtala Muhammed Airport and handed over to the EFCC.
An official said that in May 2019, Khilnani deposited a British bank cheque for £4,620,000 at the EFCC Ikoyi zonal office. The cheque was payable to his former employers and was believed to be part refund of the money he allegedly stole. The British bank did not honour the cheque.
In December of that same year, shortly after the UK cheque was dishonoured, Khilnani’s lawyers took his former employers and the EFCC to court in a civil suit where they sought “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the the defendant (EFCC) from further mediation, or inviting the plaintiffs (Khilnani and another), or questioning the plaintiffs, or instituting any charge against the plaintiffs….”.
Undeterred, the EFCC defended its lawful right to investigate crime and the case was eventually struck out in February last year due to the court’s lack of jurisdiction. It was therefore not until last October, after five years of investigation and legal tussle, that the EFCC was able to charge Khilnani to court for financial crimes.
As he allegedly failed to answer the court summons and appear in court, the EFCC obtained the court’s order in March 2023 and declared Khilnani wanted, which was published in the The PUNCH of 17th May 2023 and on the EFCC website.
If investigations reveal he is taking refuge outside Nigeria, the normal procedure would be for the EFCC to ask Interpol to arrest him or to seek his extradition from Britain where he is known to have a residence.
