Mauro Zanin allegedly defrauded a company in the Niger
Delta of $111,000
Mauro Zanin, 52, an Italian being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on fraud related charges, allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday, a day before his arraignment in court.
Zanin was alleged to have duped Gladwaters Nigeria Limited of $111,000 by reportedly selling a used Dredger Italgraghe SGT 200 to the company. However, after the company waited fruitlessly for the ship, MSC Trinidad, to berth, and also discovered that the Bill of Laden issued by Zanin was a fake, it reported the matter to the authorities.
The deceased was subsequently arrested by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service following a complaint by Mma Wokocha, of Gladwaters, on May 30, and handed over to the EFCC for further investigation.
“He was found motionless in the bathroom of the Commission’s detention facility in Abuja at about 4.50 am on June 19, 2012,” said Wilson Uwajaren, the spokesperson of EFCC, in a statement on Tuesday. “He had apparently committed suicide using his bed sheet. All effort by the duty officers and a team of EFCC medical personnel, led by Dr. Gideon Osi of the Commission’s Medical Unit, to revive him with cardiopulmonary resuscitation proved futile. He was subsequently certified dead at about 5.45 am.”
The EFCC had filed a five count charge against Zanin in court and had secured June 20 as hearing date. Following this, he was reportedly served with the court papers on Monday so as to prepare his defence.
According to the EFCC, the Italian Embassy was notified of Zanin’s arrest on May 31; and he was granted provisional bail the same day, but could not meet his bail conditions.
“While in detention, Mr Zanin was visited on May 30, 2012, by Mr Nicola Bazzani, the First Secretary and Deputy Head of Mission at the Italian Embassy; and everyday by his lawyer, Mr Ugochukwu Onyejiuto,” stated Uwajaren.
Responding, Onyejiuto said he was surprised with the victim’s reluctance to inform his family members of his travails. “It is important to say that I took this matter pro bono, with the hope that he will pay my fees when he is free,” he said. “I was spending my money feeding him. To my amazement, he refused to let his family know what was going on. He has a 30 year-old son who is a lawyer in Italy but he was always telling them all was well.”
Wokocha expressed shock at the news of the death of the suspect, and absolved the EFCC of any blame in his death. “Nobody should blame the EFCC,” she said. “The Commission has done what it has to do, you cannot blame the EFCC.”
The remains of the suspect have been deposited at the mortuary awaiting an autopsy.
Source: DailyTimes
Mauro Zanin, 52, an Italian being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on fraud related charges, allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday, a day before his arraignment in court.
Zanin was alleged to have duped Gladwaters Nigeria Limited of $111,000 by reportedly selling a used Dredger Italgraghe SGT 200 to the company. However, after the company waited fruitlessly for the ship, MSC Trinidad, to berth, and also discovered that the Bill of Laden issued by Zanin was a fake, it reported the matter to the authorities.
The deceased was subsequently arrested by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service following a complaint by Mma Wokocha, of Gladwaters, on May 30, and handed over to the EFCC for further investigation.
“He was found motionless in the bathroom of the Commission’s detention facility in Abuja at about 4.50 am on June 19, 2012,” said Wilson Uwajaren, the spokesperson of EFCC, in a statement on Tuesday. “He had apparently committed suicide using his bed sheet. All effort by the duty officers and a team of EFCC medical personnel, led by Dr. Gideon Osi of the Commission’s Medical Unit, to revive him with cardiopulmonary resuscitation proved futile. He was subsequently certified dead at about 5.45 am.”
The EFCC had filed a five count charge against Zanin in court and had secured June 20 as hearing date. Following this, he was reportedly served with the court papers on Monday so as to prepare his defence.
According to the EFCC, the Italian Embassy was notified of Zanin’s arrest on May 31; and he was granted provisional bail the same day, but could not meet his bail conditions.
“While in detention, Mr Zanin was visited on May 30, 2012, by Mr Nicola Bazzani, the First Secretary and Deputy Head of Mission at the Italian Embassy; and everyday by his lawyer, Mr Ugochukwu Onyejiuto,” stated Uwajaren.
Responding, Onyejiuto said he was surprised with the victim’s reluctance to inform his family members of his travails. “It is important to say that I took this matter pro bono, with the hope that he will pay my fees when he is free,” he said. “I was spending my money feeding him. To my amazement, he refused to let his family know what was going on. He has a 30 year-old son who is a lawyer in Italy but he was always telling them all was well.”
Wokocha expressed shock at the news of the death of the suspect, and absolved the EFCC of any blame in his death. “Nobody should blame the EFCC,” she said. “The Commission has done what it has to do, you cannot blame the EFCC.”
The remains of the suspect have been deposited at the mortuary awaiting an autopsy.
Source: DailyTimes
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