A prosecution witness in the alleged N8.7 billion money laundering case involving former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Zenith Bank filed Suspicious Transaction Reports on transactions connected to the former minister’s accounts.
The witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, made the disclosure on Wednesday while testifying before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
Malami is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over an amended 16 count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy, concealment and laundering of N8.7 billion said to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
During cross examination by defence counsel, Adebayo Adedeji, SAN, the witness admitted that the deposits reflected in the account statements complied with guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
He, however, explained that the bank still filed Suspicious Transaction Reports in compliance with regulatory requirements.
“But we had to file Suspicious Transaction Report. We did file,” the witness told the court.
Proceedings briefly witnessed drama during re examination when prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa, SAN, asked the witness to explain the meaning of a Suspicious Transaction Report.
The defence objected to the question, arguing that there was no ambiguity in the earlier testimony that required clarification.
Justice Abdulmalik, however, overruled the objection after the prosecution relied on Section 215(3) of the Evidence Act.
Further explaining the process, the witness stated that suspicious transaction reports are typically filed when deposits are made in repetitive or unusual patterns.
“Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU,” he said.
The witness also clarified that his duties as a compliance officer involved responding to correspondence from law enforcement agencies and that he was neither the account officer nor relationship manager handling the accounts under investigation.
Following his testimony, the court discharged the witness and adjourned the case until May 22 for continuation of trial.
