JUST-IN: Serial Entrepreneur, Akintoye Akindele, Arrested for Alleged Fraud

Flamboyant serial entrepreneur and Chairman of Platform Capital, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, has been arrested by the men of the Nigeria Police Force for alleged fraudulent diversion of payment for crude oil supplied to Duport Midstream Company Limited.

It was learnt that Akindele, who received the invitation of the Nigeria Police Force to appear on Monday, July 24, 2023, left the country without honoring the invitation.

According to sources, all efforts to get Akindele to account for the crude oil which he allegedly sold and received payment for, proved abortive.

Akindele is also currently being investigated based on a separate petition filed by concerned shareholders of Duport Midstream Company Limited for alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars of company funds.

Reliable sources at the company noted that Akindele, who also acts as the interim Managing Director of Duport Midstream, admitted to having received the funds but has refused to account for same.

He has also allegedly resisted all attempts of the board-appointed forensic auditor, to investigate discrepancies in the company’s financial records.

In recent time, Akindele has also been in the news for some controversial failed projects which are yet to be completed nearly three years after with some critics questioning his corporate governance culture and practices.

Akindele, who parades a long list of corporate awards such Honouree for Service to Young People (Future Africa Awards 2022), Oil & Gas CEO of The Year (Business Day 2022), Most Influential People of African Decent (Hall of Fame 2022), African Business Leader of the Year (Africa Leadership Magazine 2022), Congressional Commendation Award (State of Georgia 2021), Business Accessibility and Inclusion Champion (FEMNET 2022), etc is enmeshed in uncompleted projects deals and partner rumblings chiefly including Energy Park project which comprises 2,500 barrels of crude oil per day modular refinery, 40 million standard cubic feet per day gas processing plant and 2 megawatts power plant scheduled for completion in Q4 2022.

Sources close to the police confirm that Akindele is now in their custody for interrogation and possible prosecution, as investigation of allegations against him continues.