Former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, appeared in court on Tuesday over allegations of money laundering brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Naijaonpoint reports that Malami appeared along with his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and one other person before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of money laundering.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charge brought against them.
Naijaonpoint recalls that the EFCC had filed a 16-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja against Malami, his son Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and an associate, Hajia Bashir Asabe, over alleged money laundering and unlawful acquisition of properties valued at over N8.7 billion.
In the charge sheet marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, the defendants were accused of conspiring to conceal, 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.