Alleged N8.7bn fraud: Zenith Bank filed suspicious transaction reports on Malami — Witness tells court

A prosecution witness in the alleged N8.7 billion money laundering trial involving former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Wednesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Zenith Bank filed Suspicious Transaction Reports on transactions linked to the former minister’s accounts.

The witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, disclosed this while testifying before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja.

Malami is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission 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 the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He, however, stated that the bank still filed Suspicious Transaction Reports in line with regulatory obligations.

“But we had to file Suspicious Transaction Report. We did file,” the witness told the court.

Drama briefly unfolded during re-examination when prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa, SAN, asked the witness to explain what constituted a Suspicious Transaction Report.

The defence objected to the question, arguing that there was no ambiguity in the witness’ earlier testimony that required clarification.

However, Justice Abdulmalik overruled the objection after the prosecution cited Section 215(3) of the Evidence Act.

Explaining further, the witness said suspicious transaction reports are usually filed when funds are deposited 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 role as a compliance officer involved handling correspondence from law enforcement agencies and that he was neither the account officer nor relationship manager for the accounts under investigation.

Following the testimony, the court discharged the witness and adjourned the matter until May 22 for continuation of trial.