GTB told me evidence of Saraki’s foreign transactions got burnt, says EFCC detective

Michael Wetkas, a detective of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says some of the documents that were evidence of transactions in the foreign account of Senate President Bukola Saraki got burnt.

Wetkas, who was responding to a question from Paul Usoro (SAN), Saraki’s lawyer, on some fund transfers from the senate president’s Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account to his alleged American Express bank account, said that in the course of his investigation, officials of GTB told him that some of the documents showing the transactions got burnt.

“Several telexes from American Express Bank and facts are here from the bank (GTB),” Wetkas said.

“All the transfer requests made by the investigating team to provide information was an offshoot of a debit transaction that was already consummated on that account, which showed that the bank it carried out.

“There is no doubt that the transaction was actually carried out by American Express Bank.

“There were also police report and an affidavit, which they (GTB) swore to, to show that some of the documents were burnt. There is an affidavit and I believe it was a fire outbreak.”

When Usoro asked: “You did not investigate to find out if American Express Bank exists?”

Wetkas responded: “My investigation was not on American Express Bank, but on the account.”

The defence counsel also asked: “From that form (the telexes showing the alleged transactions) is there any relating to America Express Bank?”

Wetkas: “There was nothing referring to American Express Bank.”