Chinese Businessmen Arrested For Offering EFCC N100M Bribe To Cover Up Investigation

Chinese Businessmen Arrested For Offering EFCC N100M Bribe To Cover Up Investigation

2 Chinese citizens have been arrested after they offered a N100 million bribe to a team of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC that was investigating their company.

Head of the EFCC’s Sokoto zonal office, Abdullahi Lawal, said Meng Wei Kun and Xu Kuoi of China Zhounghao Nigeria Limited, a construction company, tried to bribe him and his team to stop an investigation into the company’s operations.

The suspects were arrested on Monday, May 11, 2020 in Sokoto.

The bribe was allegedly offered in a desperate bid to compromise ongoing investigations of the construction company, China Zhonghao Nig. Ltd, handling contracts awarded by the Zamfara State Government in the sum of N50, 000,000,000.00( Fifty Billion Naira) between 2012 to 2019.

The zonal office of the Commission is investigating the construction company, in connection with the execution of contracts for the construction of township roads in Gummi, Bukkuyun, Anka and Nassarawa towns of Zamfara state; and also the construction of one hundred and sixty eight (168) solar- powered boreholes in the 14 local government areas of the state.

Alarmed by the consistency and professionalism of investigation being conducted, the company reached out to Lawal with an offer of N100,000,000 (One Hundred Million Naira) as a bribe to “bury” the matter.

In other to trap the suspects, Lawal played along, and on Monday, two representatives of the company Meng Wei Kun and Xu Kuoi offered him cash totalling fifty million naira as a first installment in their office along airport road, Sokoto.

“On May 7, 2020, I was contacted by Mr Meng Wei Kun, Managing Director, China Zhounghao Nig. Ltd, in respect of an ongoing investigation against their company. I and my investigating team were offered the sum of one hundred million naira to compromise the case.

“Four days after a series of discussion, it was agreed that I come for half of the money, which was ready, at their office/residence, along Airport Road, Kasarawa, Sokoto.

“In a well-coordinated operation with a team of operatives, Mr Meng Wei Kun and Mr Xu Kuoi, were arrested while giving the bribe to me at the above address. In the process, the sum of fifty million naira, three laptops, five smartphones, and some relevant documents were seized ,” the EFCC zonal head told newsmen.