CASE NUMBER 10918:

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON - MAINA’S SON BAGS 14-YEAR JAIL

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Alleged Perpetrators(s)

Faisal Maina

Location (Town / State)

Abuja, Abuja

Date of Event

07 Oct 2021

Date of republication

07 October every year

Case category (Choose all that apply)

Case Summary

Faisal Maina, son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT, Abdulrasheed Maina, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on 7th October 2021, after being found guilty on three count charge of money laundering in Abuja.

Full story

Faisal Maina has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment after being convicted by Justice Okon Abang of the federal high court Abuja. Faisal Maina is the son of Abulrasheed Maina, Former Chairman of the Pension Reform Taskforce Team who is facing a 12-count money laundering charge arraigned on October 25, 2019, alongside his son, Faisal, and firm, Common Input Property and investment Limited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The highlight of the case according to the court is the successful establishment of laundering activities against Faisal who operated a fictitious bank account with the United Bank for Africa, through which his Father, Maina laundered the sum of N58.1million. The court stated that the laundered money was deposited into the account that was operated in the name of Alhaji Faisal Farm 2, which was successively withdrawn by Faisal and his father, between October 2013 and June 2019. Faisal was found guilty on three counts of money laundering filed against him by the EFCC. One of the charges reads: “That you Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, (alias Alh Faisal Abdullahi Farms), between October 2013 and June 2019, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, controlled an aggregate sum of N58, 111,585.00 (Fifty-eight Million, One Hundred and Eleven Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty-five Naira) only, paid through the United Bank for Africa (UBA) account of Alh. Faisal Abdullahi Farms, when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activity to wit: corruption of one Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, who is facing a separate charge and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as (amended) and punishable under Section15 (3) and (4) of the same Act”.

Justice Abang commended EFCC for closing its case against Faisal after it called three witnesses that testified in the matter. Abang stated that the case proved all the essential ingredients of the charge for which Faisal reasonably ought to have known that inflows into the bank account formed proceeds of an unlawful act of corruption by his father. The defendant was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment – five years on count 1 and 3 of the charge and 14 years on count 2 of the charge. But the court held that the charge would run concurrently, starting from 7th October, the date of conviction.

Faisal, since June 24 2020 has failed to appear before the court for his trial. Delivering his judgment, Justice Abang added that the convict should be arrested anywhere found in Nigeria and remanded in any Correctional Service Center to serve his jail term immediately. Abang further held that in the event that the defendant was traced to anywhere outside the country, the Federal Government, “shall legally or lawfully commence extradition proceeds to bring him into the country to serve the jail term.” By extension, the court ordered that the company through which the fund was laundered, Alhaji Faisal Farm 2, be wound up, with funds in it forfeited to the government.

External links/URLs

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/432485-alleged-fraud-maina-has-a-case-to-answer-court-rules.html
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/10/son-of-ex-pension-boss-faisal-maina-bags-14yrs-jail-term-for-money-laundering/

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