The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has brought charges against Aisha Salihu Malkohi (also known as Ummitah, Arab Money) and her husband, Abubakar Abubakar Sadiq Mahmoud (currently at large), on five counts related to misappropriation of funds amounting to N410,518,000 (Four Hundred and Ten Million, Five Hundred and Eighteen Thousand Naira only).
The arraignment took place on Friday, December 8, 2023, before Justice Aisha Mahmud of the Kano State High Court in Kano.
One of the charges accuses Aisha Salihu Malkohi and Abubakar Sadiq Mahmoud of obtaining the sum of Two Hundred and Twenty-Five Million, Two Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand Naira only (225,259,000) belonging to Farida Ibrahim between January 6 to December 16, 2022.
The money was allegedly deposited into the account of Abubakar Sadiq Mahmoud at Zenith Bank under false pretenses of purchasing and supplying 64 cars from Saudi Arabia. This act is deemed an offense contrary to Section 1 (a)&(b) and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006.
During the arraignment, the defendant pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
Following her plea, EFCC counsel Zarami Mohammed requested a trial date, while defense counsel G.I Abubakar presented a bail application for his client, which was opposed by Mohammed. Justice Mahmud subsequently adjourned the matter until December 15, 2023, for a ruling on the bail application. The defendant was remanded in EFCC custody pending the ruling.
Aisha Salihu Malkohi was apprehended by EFCC investigators in Kano based on a petition from two individuals, Farida Ibrahim and Ibrahim Mohammed Abdulrahman. The petitioners alleged that Malkohi, in collaboration with her husband, defrauded them of their hard-earned money, ostensibly for the supply of cars, gold, electronics, and kitchen utensils from Saudi Arabia.
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Upon receiving the petition, the EFCC conducted a thorough investigation, revealing that the defendant had collected a total sum of N410,518,000 through bank accounts associated with her company, Golden Grass Hill International Ltd, and her husband’s Zenith Bank account. Further findings disclosed that the defendant and her husband, who remains at large, diverted the funds into multiple bank accounts.