The Nigerian Federal Government has filed a 16-count money laundering charge against the country’s former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), his son Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, and a co-defendant, Hajia Bashir Asabe.
The charges, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, accuse the trio of conspiring to launder and conceal a total of ₦1.014 billion between July 2022 and June 2025.
The prosecution alleges that Malami, who served as the nation’s chief law officer from 2015 to 2023, and his son procured a company named Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to disguise the illicit origin of the funds, using its Sterling Bank account as a front.
The extensive charges detail numerous complex transactions, including using ₦600 million as cash collateral for a hotel loan, disguising ₦500 million for the purchase of a luxury duplex in Maitama, and channeling over ₦1.3 billion through the bank account of another entity, Meethaq Hotels Limited.
The government further alleges that Malami, while in office, used illicit funds to indirectly acquire a vast portfolio of properties, including hotels and residences in Abuja, Kano, and Birnin-Kebbi, with individual transactions ranging from ₦120 million to as high as ₦850 million. These alleged acts are said to violate Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act of 2022.
