Femi Fani-Kayode Has Been Discharged and acquitted Of Money Laundering Charges

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has
been discharged and acquitted of the money laundering
charges by a Federal High Court in Lagos, Vanguard
reports.
Fani-Kayode, whose trial began in 2008 before Justice
Ramat Mohammed, was arraigned by the EFCC to have
laundered about N100 million while he was the Minister
of Culture and Tourism and subsequently, Aviation
Minister. The allegedly laundered sum was, however,
reduced to N2.1million on Nov. 17, 2014 after Ofili-
Ajumogobia dismissed 38 out of the 40-count levelled
against Fani-Kayode for want of proof.
The EFCC prosecutor, Keyamo, while urging the court
to uphold the remaining two counts and to accordingly
convict Fani-Kayode, said the former minister had
failed to exonerate himself of the allegations. Keyamo
pointed out that the object of the charge was that
Fani-Kayode transacted in cash sums above N500,000,
which was the threshold stipulated by the Money
Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
Keyamo had argued that Fani-Kayode had admitted
making such transactions in his confessional statement
of Dec. 22, 2008 made to the EFCC. He said: “In this
statement, he admitted that he transacted in cash
above N500,000. My Lord, this statement went in
without objection by the accused person and the
statement was voluntary.
“With the combination of this confessional statement
and the statement of the IPO that investigated the
allegation, we rely on all of this to submit that we have
discharged our burden that monies were received by
the accused person in cash and were not done through
any financial institution.”