In a statement released on Wednesday by his media office, Malami dismissed reports linking him to terrorism financing, money laundering or ownership of multiple bank accounts, describing them as “false, misleading and baseless.”
He maintained that no security, intelligence or law-enforcement agency in Nigeria or abroad had ever questioned him over such allegations.
Malami explained that the EFCC sought clarification only on a $310 million tranche of the Abacha loot recovered during the Muhammadu Buhari administration. He added that he provided documents showing that the funds had not entered the Federation Account before 2016, meaning no duplication occurred.
He stated that the EFCC had reviewed two assumptions — alleged abuse of office and money laundering — but found no grounds to proceed after he furnished detailed responses.
Malami further referenced the 2016 request for re-engagement by Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini, arguing that it proved the earlier recovery process had not been completed. He said the Buhari administration rejected Monfrini’s proposal of a $5 million upfront fee and up to 40 per cent success fee, opting instead for a 5 per cent cap with Nigerian lawyers — a move he said saved the country billions.
He also provided a breakdown of how recovered funds were used:
• $322.5 million repatriated from Switzerland (2017–2018) was deployed to the National Social Investment Programme under World Bank supervision.
• $321 million from Jersey (2020) was channeled to infrastructure projects such as the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, Abuja–Kano Road and the Second Niger Bridge.
He said attempts to conflate these recoveries or present them as duplicated were “deliberately misleading.”
Malami also addressed reports quoting a retired military officer as accusing him of terrorism financing, stating that the officer had since publicly clarified that he made no such allegation.
Reaffirming his role in strengthening Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing architecture, Malami said he championed the establishment of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and pushed reforms that helped Nigeria exit the FATF grey list in 2022.
He urged the public to disregard what he described as a coordinated smear campaign.
Meanwhile, EFCC officials confirmed that Malami was detained after failing to meet his earlier bail conditions. “He will remain in custody until he meets those conditions,” a senior official said.
