The December 30, 2024, Mareva order also sought to prevent Mr Obaigbena from moving any assets linked to him from the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. First Bank had filed a debt-recovery suit against Mr Obaigbena and his family members, including Efe Damilola Obaigbena and Olabisi Eka Obaigbena, saying they used their oil servicing firm General Hydrocarbons Limited to assume debt of about $718 million.

At least $225 million had been frozen in bank accounts run by the Obaigbenas as part of the order, which was issued by Justice Deinde Dipeolu in suit FHC/L/CS/2378/2024.

The judge also said all banks licensed to do business in Nigeria should immediately seize all financial transactions to the Obaigbenas and laundry of businesses linked to them.

Mr Obaigbena did not return a request seeking comments about the order on Thursday evening.

But a source close to the THISDAY and Arise TV boss shared a letter from his lawyers with Peoples Gazette, which narrated how the issue began and why First Bank executives are at risk of contempt of court.

In the January 9, 2025, letter from their lawyers Abiodun Layonu & Co., the Obaigbenas argued that First Bank was trying to force them to take responsibility for up to $718 million in delinquent loans against Atlantic Energy.

The lawyers warned First Bank of “grave legal implications” for going to another judge to obtain the Mareva order when a separate federal judge already had a previous injunction prohibiting any actions against the Obaigbenas over the dispute.

The lawyers cited a December 12, 2024, judgement by Justice Lewis Allagoa of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, which “unequivocally and emphatically restrained First Bank from taking any steps whatsoever to enforce any security, receivables, instrument, financial documents or assets of our clients pending the hearing and determination of the ongoing arbitration proceeding between our client and the FBN.”

The firm said First Bank knew of the judgment before approaching another judge for an ex-parte order without disclosing the prior judgment, which they suggested was unethical and illegal.

A spokesman for First Bank and chairman Femi Otedola did not immediately return a request seeking comments from The Gazette about whether or not they’ve received the letter from lawyers to the Obaigbenas.

In a separate petition to CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso last year, Mr Obaigbena said he helped save First Bank from imminent collapse in 2021 when he used the resources from OML 120 oil block he secured under President Muhammadu Buhari to elevate the company’s fortunes from declaring N161 billion loss to announcing N151 billion in profits for the year ended December 31, 2021.

“We have been left with no choice but to go to court and arbitration to preserve our fundamental rights and our rights under the agreements in the face of FBN’s attempts to clubber and bully us out of existence,” Mr Obaigbena said in the November 7, 2024, complaint.

SOURCE: Gazettengr.com

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Judge Engoron also banned him from serving as a company director or taking out loans from banks in the state for three years.

The New York real estate mogul had escaped having some of his companies dissolved, which could have meant bankruptcy.

Speaking from his Florida estate, Trump said he would appeal the ruling.

He said “A crooked New York state judge just ruled I have to pay a fine for $350m for having built a perfect company”

“It’s a very sad day for, in my opinion, the country.”

In the ruling on Friday, Judge Engoron referred to previous allegations of wrongdoing in justifying the large amounts he ordered the defendants to pay, writing that they “are likely to continue their fraudulent ways” unless he imposed a “significant” penalty.

He made specific reference to the Trump Organization’s conviction in a criminal tax fraud case in 2022, where a jury found it had enriched its top executives with off-the books benefits for more than a decade.

“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological.

 “The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.”Judge Engoron wrote in a scathing 92-page decision.

READ ALSO: Town Planners Charge Tinubu to Obey Urban And Planning laws In The Execution Of Renewed Hope Estates And States

Still, Trump’s empire was spared from one of the worst potential outcomes, the cancellation of its business licenses, known as the corporate death penalty.

Instead, the judge ordered two tiers of oversight, an independent monitor to report to the court for up to three years and a separate independent director of compliance to be installed.

The judge is also requiring Trump pay interest on the profits he made by committing the fraud (known as “prejudgment interest”), which could bring the final amount penalty total to around $450m.

Along with what Trump has been ordered to pay, his two adult sons and co-defendants, Donald Jr and Eric, must each pay $4m. 

They are barred for two years from doing business in New York, while another co-defendant, Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, has been ordered to pay $1m.

Additionally, Trump, his company, and its affiliates cannot apply for loans in New York for three years.

Both of Trump’s sons denounced the ruling on social media, with Donald Jr claiming the judgment was politically motivated and Eric calling the judge “a cruel man”

In her civil case, New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, had accused all four defendants and the wider Trump Organization of massively inflating property values and lying on financial statements so they could borrow large sums of money at favourable interest rates. She had asked for a fine of $370m.

Speaking on Friday, she said: “There cannot be different rules for different people in this country, and former presidents are no exception.”

“Donald Trump may have authored the art of the deal, but he perfected the art of the steal,” she told a news conference.

In September, Judge Engoron ruled Mr Trump was liable for business fraud, finding he had misrepresented his wealth by hundreds of millions of dollars.

In one instance, the judge found Mr Trump’s financial statements had wrongly claimed that his Trump Tower penthouse was almost three times its actual size.

The subsequent 43-day trial that took place late last year and included testimony from 40 witnesses, focused mostly on determining penalties against Mr Trump.

READ ALSO: Real Estate Sector in Nigeria Set to Reach $2.26 Trillion by 2024, Residential Estates Lead Growth

Judge Ergoron’s ruling lays out in detail his reasoning, often diving deep into finance and accounting practices and directly addressing testimony from experts and witnesses.

“In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements,” he wrote. 

“When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants’ fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality, and defendants failed to accept responsibility.”

Judge Engoron may have made a thorough record expecting that Mr Trump would appeal, legal experts told the BBC.

Mr Trump vehemently denied wrongdoing throughout the trial. In a six-minute speech during closing arguments in January, Mr Trump declared himself an “innocent man” and called the case a “fraud on me”.

And the former president said repeatedly that he paid his lenders, which meant there was no crime.

While in his ruling Judge Engoron acknowledged that no banks were hurt, he added that “the next group of lenders to receive bogus statements might not be so lucky”.

The latest penalty comes on top of the $83.3m Trump owes writer E Jean Carroll in a separate defamation case. But while the amount is high, it is not expected to bankrupt a man whose total net worth has been estimated at $2.6bn.

Source: AriseTv

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