The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned Bright Echefu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Satellites Limited (TStv), along with three others, on a 12-count amended charge bordering on money laundering, investment fraud, and tax evasion totalling over N1 billion and $1.3 million.
Echefu was re-arraigned alongside the Executive Director of TStv, Felix Igboanuga; Telecom Satellites Limited; and Briechberg Investment Limited (1st to 4th defendants) before Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
According to court documents exclusively obtained by Nairametrics, the defendants are accused of defrauding Mr. Tanimu Turaki, former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs and Managing Director of Kalsiyam Global, as well as BYI General Limited, of loan investments meant for the expansion of the Pay TV company.
The amended charges include allegations of tax defaults amounting to N66.9 million, involving unremitted Value Added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax, and Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) deductions from the salaries of TStv’s 165 staff as of May 2020.
Among the specific allegations, the EFCC claims that:
All four defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read in court on June 30, 2025.
However, in a move toward possible resolution, Echefu’s lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Eyitayo Fatogun, told the court that the defendants had initiated settlement discussions and had already made some payments to the complainants. He requested an adjournment for a report on the ongoing negotiations.
“There are moves to settle this matter and there was a meeting on Saturday between myself and the nominal complainant. The defendants have paid some money,” Fatogun said.
EFCC counsel, A.S. Tomwell, confirmed the payments but maintained that the arraignment must proceed before any settlement could be considered. The court concurred and directed that the plea be taken before fixing the next hearing.
Justice Umar thereafter adjourned the matter to October 15, 2025, for trial.
TStv was launched by Echefu on Nigeria’s Independence Day, October 1, 2017, amid high hopes that it would disrupt the Pay-TV space long dominated by Multichoice’s DStv and GOtv. After disappearing from the market for years and a failed relaunch attempt in 2020, TStv eventually went completely off the radar by March 2023.
In November 2024, Echefu announced a new Pay TV service called LUFT TV, promising to onboard former TStv subscribers. However, his new venture came under scrutiny, given the unresolved controversies surrounding the failed TStv project.
The EFCC’s charges, if proven, carry serious legal consequences, including possible imprisonment of not less than four years under Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act. While settlement is legally permissible, it is subject to court approval.
As it stands, the defendants remain innocent until proven guilty by the court.
