Alleged N8.7bn fraud: Zenith Bank filed suspicious transaction reports on Malami, witness tells court

A witness for the prosecution in the alleged N8.7 billion money‑laundering case against former Attorney‑General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami testified on Wednesday that Zenith Bank had filed Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) concerning transactions linked to the former minister’s accounts.

Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer at Zenith Bank, made the disclosure while appearing before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja.

Malami is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission together with his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, under a revised 16‑count indictment that alleges conspiracy, concealment and laundering of N8.7 billion purported to be proceeds from unlawful activities.

During cross‑examination by defence counsel Adebayo Adedeji, SAN, Bata admitted that the deposits shown in the account statements complied with Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines. He also confirmed that the bank had nevertheless filed STRs in accordance with regulatory duties.

"But we had to file Suspicious Transaction Report. We did file," the witness said.

When prosecution counsel J.S. Okutepa, SAN, asked the witness to define what constitutes a Suspicious Transaction Report during re‑examination, the defence objected, claiming no clarification was needed. Justice Abdulmalik overruled the objection after the prosecution cited Section 215(3) of the Evidence Act.

Bata explained that STRs are typically filed when funds are deposited in repetitive or unusual patterns. “Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must elevate it to the NFIU,” he said.

The witness also clarified that his role as a compliance officer involved handling correspondence from law‑enforcement agencies and that he was not the account officer or relationship manager for the accounts under investigation.

After the testimony, the court discharged the witness and adjourned the case to May 22 for continuation of the trial.