Alleged Money Laundering: EFCC files amended charges against Adoke, Abubakar

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has filed an additional seven-count charge against former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke.

Adoke was charged to court over alleged money laundering involving about N400 million.

The trial of the ex-AGF who was re-arraigned alongside an Abuja-based businessman, Aliyu Abubakar, before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, was expected to begin Monday but was stalled due to the amended charges.

At the resumed trial, the Prosecutor, Bala Sanga, informed the court of an amended charge he filed on July 29, which was served on all the defendants.

The trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, who frowned at the late filing of the amended charge, consequently adjourned the trial till today on the ground that he is yet to sight the amended charges.

In the initial seven-count charge, EFCC alleged that the defendants committed the money laundering offences involving over N400million in Abuja in September 2013.

In the counts relating to Adoke, he was accused of among others offences, receiving the dollar equivalent of N300million from Abubakar, paying the dollar equivalent of N367,318,800 to one Usman Mohammed Bello and allegedly using the sum of N300million, which was alleged to be part of the proceeds of unlawful activities, all in violation of various provisions of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011.

The former AGF was also accused of making “structured cash payments, in 22 tranches” amounting to N80million, another of such structured payments in 13 tranches summing up to N50million into his Unity Bank account.

The commission alleged that the funds were not only part of the proceeds of unlawful acts but that they also exceeded “thresholds outside a financial institution” and that the payments were done with the intention of concealing the origins of the funds contrary to section 15(2(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 and punishable under section 15(3) of the same law.