The former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, has been convicted by the federal high court in Abuja on charges of money laundering.
Maina was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Maina was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2019, but pleaded not guilty to a 12-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N2 billion.
In the judgment which was delivered on Monday, the trial judge, Okon Abang noted that Maina stole over N2 billion belonging to pensioners, “most of whom have died without reaping the fruits of their labour”.
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“I find the defendant (Mr Maina) guilty and convicted in count 2, 6, 9, 3, 7 and 10,” Abang held.
The judge stated that the former PRTT chairman is guilty of hiding his real identity as a signatory to accounts opened in two banks – UBA and Fidelity bank – by using the identity of his family members unknown to them.
The said accounts had cash deposits to the tune of N300 million, N500 million, and N1.5 billion.
The judge stated that Maina’s service earnings throughout his years of employment as a civil servant, his salary and emoluments could not sum up to the monies in the respective accounts.
The court also found Maina guilty of purchasing a property in Abuja, with cash, in the sum of $1.4 million, which is above the statutory threshold of N5 million and without passing through a financial institution.
The same judge had in October sentenced Faisal, Maina’s son who is at large, to seven years imprisonment on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering.
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