Sodje brothers in £80,000 scandal 

Korea/Japan Super Eagles defender, Efe Sodje, his brothers Sam and Akpo and two other men are on trial for money laundering in United Kingdom.

The other accused are; Emmanuel Ehikhamen and Andrew Oruma.

Three footballer brothers helped launder cash from an £80,000 international fraud, a court heard.

Retired Premier League player Sam Sodje – who appeared for a number of clubs including Reading and Charlton Athletic, and represented Nigeria at international level – along with siblings Efe and Akpo, were allegedly involved in channelling proceeds from the scam which targeted firms in Colombia, India, Italy and Abu Dhabi.

Sam and Efe Sodje are on trial at the Old Bailey along with two other men, Emmanuel Ehikhamen and Andrew Oruma.

Akpo Sodje now lives in Dubai and has declined to return to Britain to be interviewed by detectives.

Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC told jurors the total fraud over the course of a month in 2013 amounted to just under £80,000.

Ehikhamen, 42, of south-east London, Oruma, 49, of Bexley, south London, Efe Sodje, 35, Cheadle, Greater Manchester, and Sam Sodje, 38, of Dartford, Kent, deny money laundering.