November 08, (THEWILL) – The Federal High Court, Abuja, has sentenced Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), to eight years imprisonment.
In a judgement delivered by Justice Okon Abang on Monday, the court held that the prosecutor, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has produced essential evidence through witnesses to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Maina is guilty of money laundering in the sum of N171,099,000.
The court held that Maina stole over N2 billion belonging to pensioners, “most of whom have died without reaping the fruits of their labour”.
“I find the defendant (Mr Maina) guilty and convicted on counts 2, 6, 9, 3, 7 and 10″, Abang held.
While further delivering his judgement, Justice Abang found Maina guilty of concealing his true identity as a signatory to accounts opened in two banks (UBA and Fidelity bank), by using the identity of his family members without their knowledge.
These accounts had cash deposits of N300 Million, N500 Million, and N1.5billion
The court held that Maina stole monies meant for pensioners as he could not prove where he got them from.
Justice Abang also held that through Maina’s service as a civil servant, his salary and emoluments will not amount to the monies in these accounts.
The court also found Maina guilty for the purchase of a property in Abuja paid in cash in the sum of $1.4million, which is above the statutory threshold of N5million and without passing through a financial institution, describing it as a criminal offense.
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