The Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) has arraigned Kavlak Onal, an Austrian nationwide, earlier than the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Ikoyi, Lagos, over his alleged failure to declare massive sums of overseas foreign money on the Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport, Ikeja.
Onal was introduced earlier than Yelim Bogoro (Justice) on Friday, by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 on a two-count cost bordering on cash laundering, opposite to the provisions of the Cash Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2022.
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In response to the EFCC, the defendant was arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) whereas making an attempt to journey on an Emirates Airline flight to Dubai.
He was intercepted throughout a routine screening on the Anti-Cash Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Forex Declaration Desk on the airport on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
The anti-graft company disclosed that Onal was discovered to be in possession of $800,575 and €651,505, which he allegedly did not declare to the Nigeria Customs Service as required by regulation.
Following his arrest, he was handed over to the EFCC for additional investigation and attainable prosecution.
Upon the conclusion of investigations, the EFCC filed a two-count cost in opposition to him.
In depend one, the prosecution alleged that Onal, on December 13, 2025, in Lagos, inside the jurisdiction of the court docket, did not declare the sum of $800,575 to the Nigeria Customs Service on the Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport, thereby committing an offence punishable underneath Part 3(5) of the Cash Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2022.
The second depend accused him of equally failing to declare €651,505 on the similar airport on the identical date, an offence additionally punishable underneath the identical part of the Act.
A press release by Dele Oyewale, EFCC’s Spokesman on Friday famous that when the costs had been learn to him, the defendant pleaded not responsible to each counts.
Following the plea, the prosecution counsel, Bilikisu Bala Buhari, requested a trial date and urged the court docket to remand the defendant at a correctional centre pending trial.
Nevertheless, Stanley Imhanruor, defence counsel, knowledgeable the court docket that he had filed a bail software on behalf of his consumer.
Responding, the prosecution said that the bail software was served on her at about 9:07 a.m. on Friday, January 9, 2026, and requested time to review and reply to it.
After listening to each events, Bogoro adjourned the matter to January 16, 2026, for the listening to of the bail software.
