Alleged N1 Billion Money Laundering: ICPC to Arraign KANSIEC Chairman, Secretary, and Deputy Director on Monday
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) will on Monday arraign the Chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Professor Sani Lawan Malumfashi, alongside the commission’s Secretary, Mr. Anas Muhammed Mustapha, and a Deputy Director in the Accounts Department, Mr. Ado Garba, over an alleged ₦1 billion money laundering case.
The defendants are expected to appear before a Federal High Court in Abuja on July 21, 2025.
According to charges filed by the ICPC, the trio allegedly conspired between November and December 2024 to engage in large-scale illegal cash transactions in violation of financial regulations and anti-money laundering laws.
Investigations by the anti-graft agency revealed that KANSIEC, under Professor Malumfashi’s leadership, transferred a total of ₦1,020,000,000.00 (One Billion and Twenty Million Naira) from its Unity Bank account to SLM Agro Global Farm, a company said to have no contractual ties with the commission.
The defendants reportedly claimed during interrogation that the funds were moved to raise cash for paying ad hoc staff who participated in the state’s local government elections and that the company returned the money in cash to KANSIEC.
However, the ICPC’s findings suggested otherwise. In one instance, the commission uncovered a letter addressed to the Manager of Unity Bank, Zoo Road, Kano, requesting the transfer of ₦59,400,000.00 (Fifty-Nine Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira), accompanied by a cheque of the same amount and a list of 468 Electoral Officers and 42 Assistant Electoral Officers for direct payments into their bank accounts.
The anti-graft agency noted that the request was honored by the bank and all beneficiaries received their payments via the banking system.
“The claim that the banking system would have been too slow to accommodate payments for ad hoc staff was a mere conjecture — a smokescreen to conceal acts of corruption and a weak attempt to justify the offence of money laundering,” the ICPC stated.
Further investigation revealed additional discrepancies. While ₦20 million was budgeted in the 2024 election funds for screening and verifying candidates across 484 wards and 44 local governments, the exercise was reportedly conducted entirely at KANSIEC’s office in Kano. Candidates were said to have traveled to Kano at their own expense, yet the third defendant told investigators that the entire ₦20 million was disbursed in cash to commission members who comprised the screening team.
The three defendants are expected to take their pleas when the case comes up on Monday.
