The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has formally arraigned former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, before the Federal High Court in Kaduna over allegations of severance pay fraud and suspicious foreign currency deposits.
El-Rufai appeared alongside co-defendant Joel Adoga on ten charges related to alleged breaches of Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws. According to the ICPC, the accusations involve inflated severance payments totaling ₦579.7 million and fraudulent dollar deposits amounting to $817,900.
The commission alleges that both defendants engaged in financial transactions that violated anti-corruption and money laundering regulations.
At the court proceedings, both El-Rufai and Adoga pleaded not guilty. Justice Ridwan Aikawa, presiding over the case, ordered that the defendants remain in ICPC custody pending further trial proceedings. El-Rufai had already spent over a month in custody before his arraignment.
The charges, which span incidents between 2016 and 2023, include:
- Counts 1 & 2: Allegedly taking ₦289.8 million in excess severance pay in 2020 and 2023.
- Counts 3–9: Receiving a total of $817,900 in foreign currency deposits from various individuals, allegedly part of illicit proceeds.
- Count 10: Alleged conspiracy to disguise the origin of $10,000 deposited in El-Rufai’s account in 2019.
The ICPC claims these transactions contravene the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. The case is set to continue as the court examines the evidence against the former governor and his co-defendant.
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