Witness: Zenith Bank flagged suspicious transactions linked to Malami

A compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc on Wednesday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the bank filed Suspicious Transaction Reports on transactions linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

The witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, testified before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik during the ongoing trial of Malami, his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and their son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, over alleged money laundering involving N8.7bn.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting the trio on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, concealment and laundering of alleged proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to N8,713,923,759.49.

While being cross-examined by defence counsel, Adebayo Adedeji (SAN), the witness confirmed that although the deposits into the accounts complied with Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines, the bank still considered the transactions suspicious enough to notify the authorities.

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

During re-examination, prosecution counsel, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), asked the witness to explain what constitutes a Suspicious Transaction Report.

The defence objected, arguing that the issue did not require further clarification, but Justice Abdulmalik overruled the objection and allowed the witness to respond.

Explaining the process, Bata said banks are required to escalate transactions showing unusual or repetitive patterns to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.

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

The witness also clarified that his responsibilities as a compliance officer mainly involve handling correspondences from law enforcement agencies and monitoring regulatory compliance. He stated that he was neither the account officer nor the relationship manager for the accounts under investigation.

Following the conclusion of his testimony, the court discharged the witness and adjourned the matter until May 22, 2026, for continuation of trial.

The EFCC alleges that the defendants conspired to procure, disguise and conceal illicit funds in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.