Stallion Group CEO, Sunil Vaswani, Harpreet Singh, ‘laundered’ N2.06bn: EFCC

Sunil Vaswani, chairman of Stallion Group alongside Harpreet Singh and Olalere Tajudeen, allegedly laundered a total of N2.06 billion through a series of financial transactions that breached Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The anti-graft agency said the trio, acting through Stallion MG Automobiles Limited and another affiliated firm, Stallion Auto Keke Limited, carried out multiple high-value cash transactions without reporting them to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), as required by law.

According to the EFCC, the alleged offences occurred between November 2022 and February 2024 and involved structured deposits running into billions of naira.

One of the charges stated that between February 14 and November 29, 2023, Sunil Vaswani, Stallion MG Automobiles Limited, Harpreet Singh, and Olalere Tajudeen, failed to notify SCUML before lodging N655.35 million into an account with Providus Bank.

In another charge, Stallion Auto Keke Limited and Tajudeen were accused of similar infractions involving N1.405 billion between November 2020 and December 2021.

The commission said the transactions contravened provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2022, which requires the disclosure of large cash movements to regulatory authorities.

Meanwhile, efforts to arraign the defendants before the Federal High Court in Lagos were stalled due to their absence in court.

At the proceedings, EFCC counsel, Henry O. Anaso, told the court that attempts to secure their attendance had been unsuccessful, prompting an application for adjournment.

The presiding judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, granted the request and adjourned the matter until July 21 for arraignment.

The case underscores ongoing concerns about compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and the challenges of prosecuting high-profile financial crimes in Nigeria.