A federal high court in Abuja has found ex-pensions boss, Abdulrasheed Maina, guilty of money laundering charges and has been sentenced to 61 years in prison to run concurrently for 8 years.
Maina, who was chairman of the now-defunct Pension Reform Task Force, was found guilty of stealing over N2 billion belonging to pensioners most of whom have died without reaping the fruits of their labour.
The court ordered Maina and his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd, to restitute about N2.1billion that was traced to their bank accounts, to the Federal Government, after which it ordered that the company should be wound up.
The presiding Judge, Justice Okon Abang, also ordered the forfeiture of Maina’s properties in Abuja.
Justice Abang found Maina guilty on 6 counts and held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully established the essential ingredients of the offences contained in the charge, beyond a reasonable doubt.
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The judge said:
“I find the defendant (Mr Maina) guilty and convicted in count 2, 6, 9, 3, 7 and 10.”
Justice Abang stressed that though the law made provision for a maximum sentence of 14 years, he said he was moved by Maina’s plea for mercy.
The EFCC had arraigned the Maina before Justice Abang, on October 25, 2019.
Mr Maina was tried on a 12-count money laundering charge filed against him by the EFCC.
Part of the allegations against him is that he used his firm to launder N2 billion and also used some of it to acquire properties in Abuja. He had pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Recall that the court also jailed Mr Maina’s son, Faisal, after finding him guilty on all three counts of money laundering involving N58.1million in public funds.
