EFCC Reportedly Traced Ex-AGF Malami’s Billions to Paris Club Refunds, Abacha Loot, Others
- EFCC investigators linked properties worth over N200bn to Abubakar Malami through Paris Club refunds, unpaid CBN loans, and Abacha loot commissions
- The anti-graft agency alleged that kickbacks, duplicated legal fees, and unreturned public funds were central to the asset trail
- However, Malami denied any wrongdoing, describing the investigation as political persecution
Legit.ng's Muslim Muhammad Yusuf is a 2025 Wole Soyinka Award-winning journalist with over 8 years of experience in investigative reporting, human rights, politics, governance and accountability in Nigeria.
Fresh details have emerged on how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) traced properties and assets worth over N200 billion to Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice.
Investigations by the anti-graft agency linked a significant portion of Malami’s wealth to three major financial transactions handled during his tenure under former President Muhammadu Buhari between 2015 and 2023.
Source: Twitter
Malami has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ahead of his arraignment before a federal high court in Abuja.
Properties estimated at over N200 billion have been traced to Malami. The assets are believed to have been acquired when he was attorney-general under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023.
He has denied all allegations in statements by his media team, alleging political persecution and promising to defend himself in court.
Below are the key transactions under investigation:
Paris Club refunds
EFCC investigators traced substantial funds to alleged kickbacks from the controversial Paris Club refund consultancy payments.
Nigeria exited the Paris Club of creditors in 2005 after paying $12 billion in exchange for an $18 billion debt write-off. Although most of the debts were incurred by the federal government, states were later refunded deductions made from their allocations.
During Malami’s tenure, the federal government approved the payment of over $400 million to consultants engaged to calculate the refunds. Acting on Malami’s legal advice, the funds were deducted directly from state allocations.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) strongly opposed the deductions, accusing Malami of pursuing personal interests and acting on behalf of the consultants.
In a 2021–2022 media dispute, the NGF alleged that the claims were fraudulent and vowed to challenge them legally. Despite the opposition, former President Buhari later approved the payments.
Sources familiar with the investigation told TheCable that EFCC operatives traced a bulk of Malami’s sudden wealth to kickbacks linked to the Paris Club deal.
Anchor borrowers’ programme loan
Another major trail followed by investigators involved the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).
Launched in 2015, the ABP was designed to boost food production by providing farmers with inputs and cash support.
However, EFCC investigators discovered that Malami allegedly obtained a N4 billion loan under the programme using the name of one of his wives, Hajiya Bashir Asabe.
The loan was reportedly never repaid. Both Malami and his wife have now been charged in court over the transaction.
The CBN disbursed over N1 trillion under the programme, with more than N600 billion yet to be recovered, raising concerns that portions of the funds may have been diverted for political use.
Abacha loot repatriation
Investigators also uncovered irregularities in the repatriation of $321 million of Abacha loot.
Although the funds were already recovered and frozen in 2013 under former President Goodluck Jonathan—with professional fees fully paid to Swiss lawyers—Malami, as AGF, engaged two Nigerian lawyers in 2017: Oladipo Okpeseyi and Temitope Isaac Adebayo.
Nigeria had paid four per cent of the recovered Luxembourg assets as professional fees and expenses to the foreign lawyers, in addition to roughly $6.8 million in fees paid to Monfrini for the Liechtenstein recoveries.
Since all the fees had been paid by Nigeria, it was only required that Malami, who was the then AGF, would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Swiss authorities and commit to an undertaking that the funds would be properly utilised.
However, in December 2017, Malami, in a suspicious move, engaged the services of the two Nigerian lawyers, which cost the country $16.9 million as commission and professional fees from the recovered funds.
Malami engaged the two lawyers to duplicate the job of the Swiss lawyers and get their own cut from the already done deal.
TheCable understands that Okpeseyi and Adebayo have been detained and interrogated by the EFCC.
“They made useful statements to the EFCC,” a source in the know told TheCable.
After the disbursement of the duplicated commission, payments were said to have been traced to Malami by investigators at the anti-graft agency.
Source: UGC
Malami speaks from EFCC custody
Former AGF and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has spent nights in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Legit.ng reports that Malami has remained in detention since Monday after he failed to meet the bail conditions set by the anti-graft agency.
The former minister also dismissed speculation surrounding a Swiss lawyer allegedly involved in the loot recovery. He explained that the lawyer reapplied for engagement in 2016 and demanded 40 per cent in professional fees, an offer rejected because the Buhari administration capped fees at 5 per cent.
Malami explains why EFCC grilled him
Legit.ng earlier reported that former AGF Abubakar Malami, SAN, has dismissed reports claiming that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) questioned him over terrorism financing, multiple bank accounts, or money laundering.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, by his media office, the former AGF said his only interaction with the EFCC was to clarify an allegation of duplication in the recovery of the Abacha loot during the late Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Malami described the trending allegations in some media outlets as false, misleading and baseless, insisting that no security, intelligence, or law-enforcement body in Nigeria or abroad had ever accused or investigated him for terrorism financing.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
