The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has submitted two documents into evidence, alleging that the iPhone used by internet celebrity Ismaila Mustapha, better known online as Mompha, was used for fraudulent activities.

According to a report by Channels TV, on Monday, EFCC tendered the purported evidence before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos High Court in Ikeja. 

The reports are a letter by the EFCC to the United States of America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a report by the Bureau.

The EFCC charged Mr Mompha and his company, Ismalob Global Investment, with conspiracy to launder funds obtained through unlawful activity, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, laundering of funds obtained through unlawful activity, failure to disclose assets and property, possession of documents containing false pretence, and use of property derived from an unlawful act on January 12, 2022.

The offence, according to the EFCC, is a violation of the Advance Fee Fraud Act of 2006 and the EFCC Act of 2004.

Mr Mompha had pleaded not guilty to all eight charges. He also pleaded not guilty to the first six counts.

Court session

In today’s hearings, Mr Mompha’s legal team, represented by Kolawole Salami, objected to the two documents being allowed as evidence.

The counsel explained that the documents were public records from the U.S. Consulate and needed to be certified before they could be used as evidence.

“The documents are not certified true copies, and should not be admitted in court,” Mr Salami told Judge Justice Dada, however, overruled the defence counsel’s objection and upheld the arguments of the prosecution who maintained that the FBI documents were original.

“The documents do not require certification,” Ms Dada ruled. Suleiman Suleiman, the attorney for the EFCC, had submitted the two documents through his witness, Ayotunde Solademi, an FBI agent, who was testifying in court regarding the Bureau’s forensic investigation.

Mr Solademi, who works for the FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Nigeria, testified in court that he used a Faraday bag to recover an iPhone that belonged to Mr Mompha.

According to Mr Solademi, the FBI’s forensic investigations showed Mr Mompha’s iPhone was used to search for bank Swift Codes, send account information to a United Arab Emirates (UAE) phone number, and had a hacked Microsoft 365 account.

“The [Mompha’s] iPhone had a compromised Microsoft 365 account and attackers used a fraudulent domain to socially engineer communication to their [Mompha’s] company,” the FBI representative was quoted to have told the court.

According to the report, the prosecution witness also informed the court that the FBI found evidence of Mr Mompha’s iPhone being used to switch payment delivery from a cheque to a wire transfer during analysis.

“The [iPhone] was used to make three attempts to transfer funds. The first two failed, but the third was successful,” Mr Solademi said.

Mr Salami, the defence attorney, read a passage from the documents during cross-examination that indicated that the FBI materials should only be used in a legal process once a separate communication has been made.

In his statement, the prosecution witness Mr Solademi, claimed that by appearing in court to testify, he had received a second message from the FBI approving the use of the papers.

The witness acknowledged, while responding to additional inquiries from the defence attorney, that he was unaware of any FBI arrests of the defendant. He also said that the EFCC had asked the FBI to conduct a forensic examination on Mompha’s iPhone.

However, the defence attorney contended that the FBI agent was unable to confirm if the iPhone he took from the EFCC belonged to Mompha at the time of handover.

Following the testimony, Justice Dada adjourned the trial until November 1, 2023.