The Federal Government has filed a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering involving the sum of ₦1.014bn against a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, and his son, Mr. Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Also named as a co-defendant is Mrs. Bashir Asabe, identified in the charge as an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.

According to the charge, the defendants are accused of laundering and concealing ₦1,014,848,500.00 (One Billion, Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-Eight Thousand, Five Hundred Naira), allegedly traced to accounts held with a commercial bank.

The Federal Government alleged that between July 2022 and June 2025, within Abuja and the jurisdiction of the court, the defendants procured Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal the unlawful origin of the funds. The company was allegedly used as a front to disguise the source and movement of the money, an act the prosecution said constitutes money laundering under Nigerian law.

The alleged offences are 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 charge sheet details several transactions allegedly involving the laundering of funds through bank accounts and the acquisition of high-value properties in Abuja, Kano, and other locations.

One of the counts alleged that Mr. Malami, SAN, and his son, between July 2022 and June 2025, procured Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal ₦1,014,848,500.00 domiciled in a Sterling Bank Plc account, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.

Another count alleged that while serving as Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Malami, SAN, alongside his son, between September 2020 and February 2021, concealed ₦600,013,460.40 through the same account, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended.

The prosecution further alleged that in March 2021, the defendants retained ₦600m as cash collateral through Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to secure a ₦500m loan granted by Sterling Bank Plc to Rayhaan Hotels Ltd, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.

Other counts alleged that the defendants used funds allegedly derived from unlawful activities to purchase luxury properties, including a duplex at Amazon Street, Maitama District, Abuja, valued at ₦500m; properties in Asokoro, Garki, Jabi, Gwarimpa, and Kano; and several hotel and commercial properties, with transaction values ranging from ₦120m to over ₦850m.

The charge also accused the defendants of conspiracy to disguise the origin of funds channelled through accounts belonging to Meethaq Hotels Limited and other entities, involving transactions amounting to over ₦1.3bn.

In several counts, the prosecution alleged that the offences were committed while Mr. Malami, SAN, was serving as Attorney-General of the Federation, and that the defendants reasonably ought to have known that the funds involved were proceeds of unlawful activities.

Mr. Malami served as Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2023 under the administration of former President Mr. Muhammadu Buhari.