Eric Tataw granted bail.

He was granted bail Friday September 8.  He had been taken into temporary custody on the instructions of a judge at the United States of America, USA’s District Court of Maryland.

The Guardian Post gathered that the bail granted Tataw restricts his movements beyond the county where he resides in Maryland. It is also reported that Tataw, for now, is free to go about his activities but under strict surveillance. This, sources within the corridors of the American judiciary hinted The Guardian Post, is pending trial against Tataw. 

To note that US Judge, David Copperthite, had first placed Tataw in temporary detention in line with the American Bail Reform Act.

At the centre of the matter, investigators are said to be working to ascertain how Tataw used the 163,000 dollars he received through the Paycheck Protection Program, PPP. The United States government instituted PPP when COVID-19 stroke the globe, to help companies pay their staff.  The scheme ended in May 202.

An affidavit relating to the case, which surfaced last week, had indicated that Tataw received 163,000 United States dollars (approximately over 90 million FCFA) in two installments between 2020 and 2021.

Investigators had based their preliminary findings on a detailed witness report that Tataw provided false information related to his company, National Telegraph LCC, to receive the money.  He is also facing accusations of wire fraud and witness tampering among others. 

The affidavit of support relating to the case quoted a certain “witness I,” as having detailed to investigators, desperate attempts made by Tataw to thwart the course of justice. 

The document had faulted Tataw for using the money for “impermissible personal expenditure, rather than payroll and business expenditures”.

 At the close of last month, the affidavit also accused Tataw of having engaged moves to bribe certain persons to mislead a grand jury working on the matter. The document had talked of backdated pays slips and audio recordings into the keeping of investigators. 

According to American legal architecture, Tataw would continue to enjoy the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.