Malami denies EFCC allegations, says Abacha loot probe baseless

The Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has dismissed allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) linking him to abuse of office and money laundering in relation to the recovery of the $322.5 million Abacha loot, describing the claims as “baseless, illogical and devoid of substance.”

Malami, in a statement issued on Saturday by his media aide, Mohammed Bello Doka, said he was invited by the EFCC on November 28, 2025, over what investigators described as a “duplication” of the recovery process for the $310 million (later $322.5 million with interest) repatriated from Switzerland during his tenure.

He quoted the EFCC as saying that the recovery had allegedly been completed before Malami assumed office in 2015 by Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini, suggesting that the former AGF duplicated the process to introduce new lawyers who would purportedly return kickbacks to him.

Malami, however, said the allegation collapses under factual scrutiny, insisting that no such funds had been lodged into the Federation Account as of 2016 — the legal benchmark for confirming completion of recovery.

He noted that in December 2016, multiple lawyers, including Monfrini, applied to be engaged for the recovery of the same funds, a move he said exposed “the internal contradiction” in the EFCC’s narrative.

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Malami explained that Monfrini demanded a $5 million upfront deposit and a 40% success fee — later reduced to 20% — terms rejected by the Buhari administration, which capped success fees at 5% and prohibited advance payments.

By rejecting Monfrini’s proposals, Malami said Nigeria saved between 15% and 35% of the recovered amount — equivalent to between N76.8 billion and N179.2 billion at an exchange rate of N1,600 per dollar.

He stressed that distinct tranches of Abacha loot were recovered during his tenure, including the $322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland and deployed through conditional cash transfers to vulnerable Nigerians under World Bank-monitored arrangements, and another $321 million repatriated from Jersey in 2020 earmarked for major infrastructure projects such as the Second Niger Bridge and key expressways.

“Any attempt to conflate these distinct recoveries or portray a lawful, cost-saving recovery process as duplication is misleading,” he said.

Malami dismissed the money laundering and abuse of office allegations as lacking any reasonable basis, insisting that all actions taken were in the public interest and within the constitutional powers of the Attorney General.

The former AGF thanked his supporters for standing by him, vowing to resist what he described as “political witch-hunt and intimidation.”

“I remain confident that truth, law and reason will ultimately prevail,” Malami stated.

The Star