The 10th prosecution witness, PW10, in the trial of Nigerian
singer, Azeez Fashola, (a.k.a Naira Marley), Dein Whyte, an investigator
with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, November
30, 2023, told Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in
Ikoyi, Lagos how Visa, a card payment platform , flagged one of the credit card
details found on a device belonging to the singer, due to fraudulent transactions.
Naira Marley is standing trial on 11-count charges bordering
on conspiracy and credit card fraud brought against him by the EFCC. Led in
evidence by the prosecution counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, the PW10 said: “As part
of the findings from the investigation, forensic analysis revealed that
malicious programmes that are being used to illegally obtain credit card
information, which can be used for card non-present transactions, were found on
the device that was recovered from the defendant upon his arrest" Also
revealed were malicious tools used to disguise the active location of an internet
user when his or her devices are connected to the internet"
Whyte also disclosed that, "tools that are used to
verify the validity, active state and accuracy of credit card credentials as
well as the region of the issuer of that card were discovered on the
defendant’s device. The analysis further revealed the website that had
been accessed on the computer of the defendant through his browser history. The
websites include sites where credit card information are illegally traded.”
He explained further that the phone and the laptop recovered
from the defendant were both registered with his credentials, name and email
address. When asked by the prosecution counsel to state the result of his
findings on the credit card details on the defendant’s device, Whyte responded,
“With respect to the card details recovered from the device of the defendant,
investigations revealed that he also exchanged those details with other
persons.
He further stated that one of the cards was reported to have
been fraudulently used for a transaction by Visa. According to him,
the card details that were in possession of the
defendant’s device neither belonged to him nor were issued to him by any
financial institution.
Under cross-examination by the defendant’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo,
SAN, Whyte informed the court that a letter of investigation was written to
Visa and that it confirmed that the card had been flagged for fraudulent
transactions. He, however, said that Visa didn’t link the credit card fraud to
the defendant’s device “because the investigation was on the card and not on
the device being used for the fraud.” He also stressed that Visa is a payment
platform and not a telecommunication company.
Justice Oweibo adjourned the case to March 6 and 7, 2024 for
continuation of trial.
