A prosecution witness, Munawwarah Anas, on Tuesday told the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, how millions of naira were allegedly laundered in the ongoing trial of a former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and others.
Ms Anas made this known while being led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
She identified before the judge millions of naira inflows and outflows in Alkausar Farm’s account, a company linked to the ex-AGF.
Mr Malami is charged alongside his wife, Hajiya Asabe Bashir, and son, Abdulaziz, by the EFCC.
At the resumed trial, Mr Okutepa informed the court that the matter was for continuation of trial and that the commission was calling the 5th prosecution witness (PW-5).
Testifying, Ms Anas, a compliance officer with Jaiz Bank, said she interfaces with law enforcement officers, including the EFCC.
She said Jaiz Bank received a request from the EFCC seeking documents relating to the account opening package of Alkausar Farm.
According to her, the bank responded through a letter dated February 4 and addressed to the anti-graft agency.
The prosecution subsequently sought to tender the bank’s response, certificate of compliance letter and account opening documents as evidence.
The defence lawyer, Adedayo Adedeji, SAN, reserved his objection until the final address.
The court admitted the documents and marked them as “Exhibits E Series.”
The witness testified that on June 13, 2018, the account received a cash deposit of “N1 million” from Hassan Aliyu, while on June 20, 2018, it received another cash deposit of “N2.25 million” from Aliyu Mohammed.
The witness further told the court that on December 7, 2018, the account received multiple inflows from Kalamu Wahid Global Concept, including transfers of “N10 million” each on four occasions and an additional transfer of “N8 million” on the same day.
She also disclosed that on December 18, 2018, the account recorded a debit transfer of “N45.5 million” to Donaliv Global Nigeria Limited.
Continuing her testimony, the PW-5 stated that the account received “N26.25 million” from Al-Afiya Energy Limited on July 13, 2020 and another “N26.25 million” from the same company on July 22, 2020.
She further said that on July 24, 2020, the account recorded a transfer debit of “N50 million” to Sahad Stores Limited and another transfer debit of “N1 million” to Alfagai Jewelry Nigeria Limited.
The witness also testified that on August 12, 2020, the account received a transfer credit of “N2.03 million,” adding that on the same day, a cheque withdrawal of “N2.03 million” was made by one Aliyu Mohammed Hassan.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer, Mr Adedeji, Mr Anas said she was not the account officer responsible for the account.
She also told the court that Jaiz Bank has a chief compliance officer based in Abuja.
The witness confirmed that none of the defendants in the case was a signatory to the account.
She further stated that none of the inflows and outflows reflected in the account records originated from the Federal Ministry of Justice and that none of the defendants was a signatory to the account.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently discharged the witness after the conclusion of her testimony and adjourned the matter until July 17 for continuation of trial.
(NAN)
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