Money laundering: I don’t have power to convert funds to naira, el-Rufai’s ex-aide tells Court

On the resumption of the hearing in the money laundering case against El-Rufai’s former Chief of Staff, Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, on Thursday, the embattled aide told the court that he did not have the power to convert funds into naira.

He stated that the decision on currency conversion lay with the governor and alleged that whenever the need arose to convert funds, the then governor gave his approval.

It will be recalled that the Chief Magistrate Court in Rigasa had remanded Sa’idu at the Kaduna Correctional Centre following his arrest and arraignment by security agencies on December 31, 2024.

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The charge against the former Chief of Staff was that he allegedly sold $45 million in hard currency, belonging to the Kaduna State Government — equivalent to ₦18,450,000,000 — at the significantly undervalued rate of ₦410 per dollar.

“This was instead of the parallel market rate of ₦498 per dollar, with criminal intent, resulting in a ₦3,960,000,000 loss to the government,” the prosecution alleged.

According to the prosecution, the offence allegedly took place in 2022 when Sa’idu served as Commissioner of Finance in the El-Rufai administration.

The prosecution further alleged that the ₦3,960,000,000 discrepancy was laundered by Sa’idu, in violation of Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

In his defense, Sa’idu told the court that, as former finance commissioner, it was not his decision. He said, “The procedure for currency conversion was not the decision of the Commissioner of Finance but that of His Excellency, the then Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

“Whenever the need arose to convert funds to naira, the Governor would direct how much to convert. Bids from various buyers were obtained, and in most cases, the bids I forwarded to His Excellency for approval were higher than those available in the parallel market.”

Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 stipulates that anyone who violates subsection (2) is liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for a term of not less than four years and not more than 14 years, a fine of no less than five times the value of the proceeds of the crime, or both.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE