The CEO of the failed Nigerian pay-TV service TStv and three other executives have appeared in the federal high court of Abuja in Nigeria on 9 charges of tax evasion, money-laundering and fraud.
According to Nigerian media, TStv CEO and managing director Bright Echefu, executive director Felix Igboanuga, and well as TStv and Briechberg Investment Ltd. are accused of money-laundering, tax evasion, as well as unremitted Value Added Tax (VAT) and Paye As You Earn (PAYE) that was deducted from the salaries of 165 TStv staffers.
Bright Echefu is also charged by Nigeria's Economic and Finacial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with fraud and is alleged to have received N150 million from Turaki Kabiru Tanimu, the managing director of Kalsiyam Farm.
In addition, Bright Echefu is charged with fraud and is alleged to have defrauded Turaki Kabiru Tanimu of another N380 million. The money was allegedly paid into the account of Briechberg Investment Ltd. under the false pretence of being a loan to Telcom Satellite for buying technology infrastructure.
Bright Echefu allegedly used the money for personal expenses.
The fake Nigerian pay-TV operation of TStv had a stop-start-stop launch in xxxxx - hoping to compete with MultiChoice Africa's DStv, but quickly became mired in a web of lies and empty broken promises to the Nigerian government, investors, installers and consumers.
The disastrous TStv that made several false promises of launching a new satellite pay-TV service in Nigeria to compete with MultiChoice's DStv and China's StarTimes never got off the ground, pirated TV channel signals from the Middle East and across Africa, made false content claims, stole other content, kept lying about sports content, took millions from investors and installer agents without ever providing anything in return, and failed to pay rent and was eventually locked out of its building.
