.jpg)
Former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Tuesday appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja to answer to allegations of money laundering brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Malami appeared in court alongside his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and an associate, Hajia Bashir Asabe, before Justice Emeka Nwite. The trio pleaded not guilty to a 16-count charge filed against them by the anti-graft agency.
Naija News reports that the EFCC had earlier filed the charges bordering on 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 are accused of conspiring to conceal, disguise, retain and indirectly acquire proceeds of alleged unlawful activities through bank accounts, corporate fronts and real estate transactions reportedly carried out between 2015 and 2025, largely in Abuja during Malami’s tenure as AGF.
According to the prosecution, led by Chief J.S. Okutepa, SAN, Malami and his son allegedly used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal the source of N1.014 billion kept in a Sterling Bank account between July 2022 and June 2025. The EFCC further alleged that N600.01 million was also concealed in the same account between September 2020 and February 2021.
The anti-graft agency additionally claimed that the defendants retained N600 million as cash collateral for a N500 million loan granted by Sterling Bank Plc to Rayhaan Hotels Ltd, allegedly knowing the funds to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
In another count, the EFCC 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 purportedly knew constituted illicit funds.
The defendants have denied all allegations. The case has been adjourned for further hearing, while the court is expected to rule on subsequent applications in the matter.
Malami previously served as Nigeria’s chief law officer from 2015 to 2023. The EFCC’s allegations remain before the court, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.