EFCC trial: Zenith Bank flagged Malami’s transactions as suspicious — Witness

Trial of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over an alleged N8.7 billion fraud took a fresh turn on Wednesday as a prosecution witness told the Federal High Court in Abuja that suspicious transaction reports were filed in relation to the former minister’s banking activities.

The witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, made the disclosure while testifying before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik at the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja.

According to the Head, Media & Publicity, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale, the commission is prosecuting Malami alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to N8,713,923,759.49.

During cross-examination by defence counsel, Adebayo Adedeji, SAN, the witness confirmed that although the deposits reflected in the account statements complied with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the bank nevertheless filed Suspicious Transaction Reports, STRs, concerning the transactions.

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

The disclosure sparked legal arguments during re-examination when prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa, SAN, sought clarification on the meaning of a Suspicious Transaction Report.
Counsel to the defence objected, insisting that the witness’s earlier testimony was clear enough and required no further explanation.

However, Okutepa argued that Section 215(3) of the Evidence Act empowered the prosecution to re-examine the witness for clarity and urged the court to permit the question.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently overruled the objection and allowed the witness to respond.

Explaining the concept of an STR, the compliance officer stated that any transaction pattern considered repetitive or suspicious must be escalated to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

“Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU,” he said.

The witness further explained that his responsibilities as a compliance officer include receiving correspondence from law enforcement agencies, adding that he was neither the account officer nor the relationship manager overseeing the accounts under investigation.

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit is the central agency responsible for analysing and disseminating financial intelligence reports aimed at combating money laundering and terrorism financing in Nigeria.

Following the conclusion of his testimony and with no further questions from either the prosecution or defence teams, the witness was discharged from the witness box.

Justice Abdulmalik thereafter adjourned the matter till May 22, 2026, for continuation of the trial.