Federal Govt Arraigns Ex-AGF Malami, Son, Other Over Alleged ₦1.01bn Money Laundering, Illegal Funds Concealment

Abuja, Nigeria– The Federal Government of Nigeria has dragged a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged money laundering involving more than ₦1.01 billion traced to a Sterling Bank account.

Court documents obtained by Afrika Eyes show that Malami, alongside Hajia Bashir Asabe and Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, is standing trial in a criminal suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/700/2025, filed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The government accused the defendants of laundering and concealing the unlawful origin of the sum of ₦1,014,848,500.00 (One Billion, Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-Eight Thousand, Five Hundred Naira), allegedly lodged in Sterling Bank Plc Account No. 0079182387.

According to the charge, the defendants “reasonably ought to have known” that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activities.

Meanwhile, between July 2022 and June 2025, within Abuja and under the jurisdiction of the court, the defendants procured a company, Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited, to conceal the source and ownership of the disputed funds.

The charge sheet states that the act was carried out with the intent to disguise the illegal origin of the money, in violation of Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws.

The alleged offence is said to be contrary to Section 21(c) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.

The count read, “That you ABUBAKAR MALAMI SAN, and ABUBAKAR ABDULAZIZ MALAMI between July 2022 and June, 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did procure METROPOLITAN AUTO TECH LIMITED to conceal the unlawful origin of the total sum of NI, 014, 848, 500.00 (One Billion, Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred and Forty Eight Thousand, Five Hundred Naira) in the Sterling Bank Plc Account No. 0079182387 when you reasonably ought to have known that the said sum formed proceeds of unlawful activities and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(c) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under section 18(3) of the same Act.”

Abubakar Malami, SAN, served as Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2023 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, a period marked by repeated allegations of corruption and abuse of office, which he consistently denied while in office.