EFCC SECURES CONVICTION OF TWO VEHICLE DEALERS FOR MONEY LAUNDERING IN KEBBI
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Sokoto Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of two vehicle dealers, Mamuda Aliyu and Hamza Muhammad Mahuta, for money laundering offences.
In a statement posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday, the anti-graft agency confirmed that the conviction was delivered by Justice Emmanuel Gakko of the Federal High Court sitting in Kebbi State on July 22, 2023.
The two defendants, who trade under the name Dogaro Ga Allah Motors along Jega Road, Birnin Kebbi, were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on money laundering, non-disclosure of financial transactions, and failure to register with the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) as required by law.
Count one of the charge sheet accused them of failing to declare their activities and submit customer identification records and transaction reports to SCUML between 2019 and 2021, contrary to Section 5(1)–(5) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
Another count detailed that the convicts accepted a N15 million cash payment from the Ministry of Animal Health on January 10, 2020, for the purchase of a Toyota Hilux vehicle without channeling the payment through a financial institution, thereby breaching the N5 million cash transaction threshold stipulated by law.
The trial, which spanned eight months, saw the EFCC prosecution team, led by Habila Jonathan, tender several documents admitted as evidence. Both convicts had pleaded not guilty at the outset of the trial.
Upon conviction, the court sentenced Aliyu and Mahuta to the following: Count 1 & 2: A fine of N250,000 each, Counts 3 to 10: A fine of N100,000 per count, or one year imprisonment in default
Justice Gakko further directed the convicts to comply with the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition & Prevention) Act, 2011 (as amended) within two months.
The EFCC reiterated that the conviction should serve as a warning to non-financial institutions engaging in cash-based transactions without proper documentation or registration with regulatory bodies.
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