The Courtroom of Attraction in Abuja on Friday upheld the eight-year sentence imposed on the previous Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Job Group, Abdulrasheed Maina, following his conviction on a 12-count cash laundering cost.
In a unanimous choice by a three-member panel, the court docket mentioned it discovered no motive to put aside the judgement of the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Abuja which discovered him responsible.
The court docket additional held that there was no proof to determine that the trial court docket had denied the previous pension boss a good listening to.
Within the lead judgement delivered by Justice Elfreda Williams-Daudu, the appellate court docket resolved all the problems Maina raised earlier than it, towards him and held that the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee proved its case past affordable doubt.
Justice Williams-Daudu additionally affirmed the assorted interlocutory rulings delivered in the midst of the trial on the Federal Excessive Courtroom, which Maina appealed towards.
Following this, the court docket dismissed the enchantment as missing in benefit.
Earlier on November 8, 2021, the excessive court docket had convicted and sentenced Maina over his complicity in cash laundering introduced towards him by the Financial Monetary Crimes Fee.
Within the cost marked FHC/ABJ/CR/256/2019, the anti-graft company alleged that Maina used a checking account that was operated by his agency to launder funds and purchase landed properties in Abuja.
It instructed the court docket that the first defendant (Maina) used fictitious names to open and function numerous financial institution accounts, in addition to recruited his family who had been bankers to function faux financial institution accounts by means of which illicit funds had been channelled.
The EFCC additional alleged that Maina induced workers of each the United Financial institution of Africa, UBA, and Constancy Financial institution Plc, to open accounts for him, with out conducting the requisite due diligence to confirm the id of the useful proprietor.
The court docket discovered Maina and his agency, Frequent Enter Property and Funding Restricted, responsible of the crime.
Trial Justice Okon Abang held that the sentence would run concurrently with impact from October 25, 2019, which was the day the defendants had been arraigned.
The justice ordered Maina and his agency to forfeit about N2.1 billion that was traced to their financial institution accounts, in addition to different monies to the Federal Authorities payable inside 90 days.
He then directed that the corporate needs to be wound up.
Likewise, it ordered the forfeiture of Maina’s properties at Lifecamp and Jabi districts of Abuja to the federal government. It additionally auctioned a bulletproof automotive and a BMW 5 Collection unique automotive that was discovered within the premises of the convict.
Justice Abang mentioned though the regulation made provision for a most sentence of 14 years for the offence that was dedicated by the defendants, he was moved by Maina’s plea for mercy.
