Money Laundering: Abubakar Malami in Court, pleads not guilty to charges

The ex-Attorney General and Minister of Justice in the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration, Abubakar Malami has appeared in Court on Tuesday, and pleaded not guilty to allegations against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Malami appeared before the Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja alongside his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and one, Hajia Bashir Asabe to be arraigned in Court.

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The 16-count charge was read to their hearing and they pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The charge sheet marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025 accused the trio of money laundering and unlawful acquisition of properties valued over N8.7 billion.

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The defendants allegedly conspire, conseal, disguise, retain and indirectly acquire proceeds of unlawful activities through bank accounts, corporate fronts and real estate transactions spanning nearly a decade.

The alleged offences were said to have been committed between 2015 and 2025, largely in Abuja, while Malami was serving as the nation’s chief law officer.

According to the charge filed by the EFCC and signed by a prosecution team led by Chief J.S. Okutepa, SAN, Malami and his son allegedly used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal the unlawful origin of N1.014 billion kept in a Sterling Bank account between July 2022 and June 2025.

The commission further alleged that another N600.01 million was concealed in the same account between September 2020 and February 2021.

The EFCC also accused the defendants of retaining N600 million as cash collateral for a N500 million loan granted by Sterling Bank Plc to Rayhaan Hotels Ltd, despite allegedly knowing that the funds represented proceeds of unlawful activity.

In another count, the anti-graft agency alleged that between November 2022 and October 2025, the defendants indirectly took control of N1.36 billion paid through the Union Bank account of Meethaq Hotels Ltd, which they allegedly knew to be illicit funds.

The EFCC claimed that the alleged actions violate the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The anti-graft agency has listed a range of witnesses, including investigators, bank officials, bureau de change operators, and company representatives, to support its case.

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