A Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, has sentenced a former Managing Director of the defunct Integrated Microfinance Bank Ltd, Simon Akinteye to four years in prison, over a $166.9m dollars fraud.

The court sentenced the convict on the eight-count charge preferred against him by the office of Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) of the Federal Ministry of Justice. The sentence is to run concurrently.

The court, however, gave him an option of fine of N2m on each of the counts, adding that same shall be computed cumulatively.

Justice Mojisola Olatoregun had convicted Akinteye on Feb. 4, after finding him guilty of all eight counts bordering on reckless granting of loans without collateral, preferred against him.

Meanwhile, the court had on same Feb. 4, discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Gabriel Adepoju, who was accused of withdrawing a total sum of N22 million from the bank and diverting same to a limited liability company, Gad Press Limited.

The court had then adjourned Akinteye’s sentence until Feb. 21, 2019. When the case was called on Thursday, the court called for addresses from counsel before reading the sentence.

Delivering judgment, Justice Olatoregun held that the court had been told that the convict is a first offender with no past criminal records. She, however, held that the convict betrayed the trust of clients of the bank, who had deposited their monies there.

In the charge marked FHC/L/234c/16, the prosecution alleged that the convict recklessly and without collateral, approved credit facilities running into $166m and N33.3m to themselves.

The convict was said to have at different times, withdrawn from the bank’s account the total sum of N11m and diverted it to his personal company named ‘Deblad Nigeria Ltd.

He was also said to have unlawfully withdrawn the total sum of $166m and paid same into the account of one Temitope domiciled with Citi Bank in the United States of America.

The offences according to the prosecution contravene the provisions of sections 15 (1)(a),18() and 18(3)a)(I) of the Banks and other Financial Institution Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. The convict had pleaded not guilty on arraignment.