ICPC To Arraign KANSIEC Chairman Over Alleged N1bn Money Laundering

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is set to arraign the chairman of Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Professor Sani Lawan Malumfashi, and two others in court over an alleged N1 billion money laundering case.

Professor Malumfashi is expected to be arraigned on Monday at a Federal High Court, Abuja, alongside the secretary of KANSIEC, Mr. Anas Muhammed Mustapha, and Mr. Ado Garba, a deputy director, Account Department of the state electoral body.

According to the ICPC spokesman, Demola Bakare, the trio had conspired sometime between November and December 2024 to commit fraud through a large-scale illegal cash transaction without regard for financial regulations and extant legislations prohibiting corruption and money laundering.

In the charge filed before the court, ICPC stated that its investigation revealed that KANSIEC, under Professor Malumfashi in November 2024 alone, transferred a total sum of N1,020,000,000.00 directly from its Unity Bank account to that of SLM Agro Global Farm, which has no contractual relationship with KANSIEC

ICPC further revealed that while the defendants in the statements they volunteered argued that the transfers made to SLM AgroGlobal were made with the intention to raise cash needed to pay the adhoc-staff that participated in the local government election in the state, and that the firm returned all such transfers to KANSIEC in cash.

Investigation however revealed otherwise as a letter from the defendant addressed to the manager, Unity Bank, Zoo Road, Kano detailed where in they requested transfer payment of the sum of N59, 400, 000.00, attached with a cheque of same amount and a list of 468 electoral officers and 42 assistance electoral officers’ bank details for payment through the banking system.

This request, according to ICPC, was honoured by the bank, and the beneficiaries, one and all, got their payments.

“Their claim that the banking system or transfers would have been too slow to accommodate their requests in the case of ad hoc staff was found to be a mere conjecture, a screen to hide corruption and a lame excuse to justify the offence of money laundering,” ICPC said.

The commission added that its investigation further revealed that though the budget for the 2024 election presented to the investigating officers (wrongly headed “Operation Budget 2025 Elections”) has the amount of N20, 000, 000.00 budgeted for the team to conduct screening/verification of the candidates across 484 Wards and 44 local governments areas of Kano State, however, all the candidates were screened/verified in the commission’s office in Kano.

“The team did not travel out of Kano and the candidates made it to KANSIEC office in Kano at their own expense, yet the 3rd defendant in his statement to the ICPC investigating officers stated that the entire budget of N20 million was given in cash to the KANSIEC members who constitute the screening/verification team.”