The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to arraign former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, on Tuesday before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged money laundering offences.
Malami will be docked alongside his son, Abubakar Malami, and Bashir Asabe, an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Ltd, a company linked to the former minister. The three defendants will appear before Justice Emeka Nwite on a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering and conspiracy.
The former AGF has reportedly been under EFCC investigation since December 8.
According to the charge filed by the anti-graft agency, the defendants allegedly carried out multiple suspicious financial transactions and attempted to conceal the illegal origin of large sums of money through bank accounts and property acquisitions in Abuja, Kano and Kebbi states.
The EFCC alleged that the offences were committed between 2015 and 2025, covering the period when Malami served as Attorney-General under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In the charge, the commission accused Malami, his son and Asabe of conspiring to disguise the source of illicit funds, acquiring properties through proxies, and retaining proceeds they allegedly knew were derived from unlawful activities.
Read Also
READ ALSO: EFCC Arraigns Ex-AGF Malami, Son Over Alleged N9bn Money Laundering
The alleged acts were said to be in violation of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Acts of 2011 (as amended) and 2022.
Among the allegations, the EFCC claimed that between July 2022 and June 2025, Malami and his son used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal over N1.01 billion in a Sterling Bank account.
They were also accused of hiding more than N600 million through the same company between September 2020 and February 2021.
The commission further alleged that in March 2021, the duo retained N600 million as cash collateral for a N500 million loan obtained by Rayhaan Hotels Ltd from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing the funds were proceeds of crime.
Other counts accused the defendants of using illicit funds to acquire several high-value properties, including luxury duplexes and residential buildings in Maitama, Asokoro, Garki, Jabi and Gwarimpa areas of Abuja, as well as properties in Kebbi and Kano states. The sums involved in the various transactions reportedly range from N120 million to over N1.3 billion.
The EFCC said it would call several witnesses during the trial, including its own operatives, bank officials, Bureau de Change operators and financial experts. Named witnesses include Folarin Dare, Chinedu Eneanya, Sani Lukeman, Abdulrahman Musa Basheer, Jamilu Mohammed, as well as representatives of Zenith Bank Plc and Sterling Bank Plc.
According to the commission, some of the witnesses are expected to testify on how intelligence reports and petitions alleging large-scale corruption against the former minister were received, while others will give evidence on the role allegedly played by Rahamaniyya Properties Ltd in acquiring properties on Malami’s behalf.
