Michael, who is currently being held at the Correctional Centre in Abuja, is facing a slew of criminal charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including alleged fraud totalling over $844,000, $10,000, and ₦590 million. 

This is the third time his legal team is seeking bail, noting deteriorating health and the constitutional presumption of innocence.

Justice Obiora Egwatu set the new date after hearing arguments from Michael’s lead counsel, Kanu Agabi SAN, and EFCC’s prosecuting lawyer, Geraldine Ofulue.

According to the EFCC, Michael operated Afriq Arbitrage System Ltd without proper authorisation. Between September 2022 and June 2023, the company allegedly solicited funds from the public under the guise of cryptocurrency arbitrage trading. 

Investigators say over 50,000 investors were convinced, largely through aggressive social media marketing, to deposit money in exchange for promises of unusually high returns.

The EFCC alleges that Michael and his company were neither licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) nor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to carry out financial services. 

However, AAS somehow obtained a SCUML (Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering) certificate, leading to serious questions about internal checks within the EFCC itself.

Among the seven counts filed against him are operating without a licence under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, advance fee fraud under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act of 2006, and money laundering related to the suspected conversion of ₦590 million traced to the sale of seized properties.

This isn’t Michael’s first run-in with the court. Back in May, Justice Emeka Nwite refused to hear his bail application until formal charges had been filed. By June 10, following his arraignment on the seven-count charge, he was remanded in custody, with Justice Egwatu noting the massive scale of the alleged fraud and the need for a speedy trial.

Now, Agabi SAN is pushing once more for bail, stressing that Michael is unwell and that the court has the discretion to grant conditional release. “If a defendant cannot meet his bail terms, it is an illusion,” Agabi said, urging the court to adopt terms his client can realistically meet. He assured the court that Michael was not a flight risk and “won’t run away.”

But the prosecution isn’t convinced.

Ofulue described the application as an abuse of court process. “There is no letter from the Correctional Centre stating that it is unable to cater to the defendant’s medical needs,” she argued.

She pointed out that Michael had already been referred to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital for treatment, proof, in her view, that his medical issues are being addressed appropriately while in custody.

She also reminded the court of the EFCC’s earlier claim that Afriq Arbitrage CEO was arrested while trying to flee the country, adding that the weight of the evidence and the scale of the losses make him a high flight risk.

Beyond the courtroom, the toll of the case is with tens of thousands of alleged victims, many of whom were attracted by bold promises of quick returns from cryptocurrency investments.

The EFCC estimates that more than 50,000 people may have been impacted, with millions of naira and dollars funnelled into AAS under false pretences.

For now,Afriq Arbitrage CEO remains in custody. The court is expected to give its ruling on his fresh bail application on July 22. 

This follows a Federal High Court decision in Abuja to reject his bail application yet again.

Michael is facing seven criminal charges bordering on illegal financial operations, money laundering, and fraud, offences that prosecutors say led to investor losses amounting to $844,416.36, $10,000, and ₦590 million. 

These transactions, according to court filings, were allegedly conducted without regulatory approval or appropriate financial licences.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting the case, alleges that between September 2022 and June 2023, Michael promoted and managed an investment scheme that operated outside the framework of Nigerian financial law. 

He allegedly ran Afriq Arbitrage System as a digital platform offering arbitrage investment opportunities, falsely guaranteeing high daily returns to unsuspecting investors.

Court documents say Michael and his company were neither licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) nor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, they received vast deposits from individuals lured through aggressive online campaigns.

In one charge, Afriq Arbitrage CEO is accused of laundering ₦590 million, part of which was traced to proceeds from the sale of properties linked to another suspect. The EFCC claims that the money originated from unlawful activity.

The Commission also alleges that Michael induced an individual named Ladi Musa Audu to invest $844,416.36 USDT into the platform in 2022, promising safety and ease of withdrawal. 

Another investor, Sir Augustine E. Ibolo, reportedly lost $10,000 under the same scheme in February 2023. Both representations, prosecutors insist, were knowingly false.

Quote from Charge Sheet:

“That you, JESAM MICHAEL UBI, and AFRIQ ARBITRAGE SYSTEM LIMITED, sometime in 2022 in Abuja, with intent to defraud, induced Ladi Musa Audu to deposit the sum of $844,416.36 USDT into the Afriq Arbitrage System investment scheme, under the false representation that the investment was safe and refundable upon request. You knew this representation to be false, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(2) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

Court Rejects Bail Again

On Tuesday, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the charges were formally read out. Michael entered a not-guilty plea. His counsel, Uchenna Njoku SAN, argued that his client was previously granted administrative bail by the EFCC, had no criminal record, and should be granted bail on “liberal terms.”

He claimed the issue originated from a former staff member who allegedly siphoned investors’ funds by gaining access to the company’s crypto wallet. That matter, he said, is already before a different court.

EFCC’s counsel, Martha Babatunde, opposed the bail request. She revealed that more victims continue to file petitions and warned the court that Michael had attempted to flee the country before his arrest.

“That further to paragraph 3 (1), the Commission is still receiving other petitions against the Applicant and investigation has revealed that there are over 50,000 investors into the Applicant’s failed investment scheme,” her affidavit stated.

Justice Egwuatu ruled that although the constitution guarantees the right to bail, the magnitude of the case and its potential impact on public confidence in financial investments outweighed Michael’s plea.

“It is in the best interest of the country and affected investors to refuse the defendant bail,” the judge ruled.

The court scheduled the trial to begin on 20 June 2025 and ordered that Afriq Arbitrage CEO be held in Kuje Correctional Centre in the meantime. This decision reiterates an earlier ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite, who denied bail in May, stating that the arraignment must come before any consideration for release.

With the EFCC receiving petitions from new victims, the agency is preparing to call witnesses from CBN, SEC, and several banks to establish that Michael was operating an unlicensed financial business.

The case, in both its scale and implications, stands out as one of Nigeria’s largest crypto-related fraud cases.