The immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and his son, Abdulaziz Malami, as well as his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe have secured N500 million bail each from the Federal High Court in Abuja.

New Telegraph reports that the trio secured the bail charges amounting to N1.5 billion pending their trial in the N9 billion money laundering offences brought against them by the Federal Government.

In a ruling delivered by trial Justice Emeka Nwite, the Federal High Court, the court ordered that each of the defendants must produce two sureties in the like sum.

The sureties, according to Justice Nwite, must be owners of landed properties located in Asokoro, Maitama or Gwarinpa districts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Justice Nwite further directed that the defendants submit valid title documents of the properties for verification and surrender their international passports to the court.

In addition, the sureties are required to provide two recent passport photographs and to depose to an affidavit of means.

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The court warned that the defendants must not travel outside the country without prior approval and ordered that they remain in custody pending the perfection of their bail conditions.

The matter was thereafter adjourned until February 17 for trial.

Malami, who served as Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice from November 11, 2015, to May 29, 2023, under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, is facing a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering.

He was arraigned alongside his son, Abdulaziz Malami, and his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, who was identified as an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, a company allegedly used to conceal proceeds of unlawful activities through property transactions.

The defendants were accused of laundering public funds amounting to about N9 billion.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the former Justice Minister allegedly acquired choice properties across Abuja, Kebbi State, and Kano State in an attempt to conceal proceeds of crime.

The anti-graft agency told the court that between July 2022 and June 2025, the defendants allegedly used Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal over N1.01 billion lodged in an account domiciled with Sterling Bank.

They were further accused of using the same firm to siphon about N600 million between September 2020 and February 2021.

Similarly, the EFCC alleged that the defendants retained N600 million in March 2021 as cash collateral for a N500 million loan obtained by Rayhaan Hotels Limited from Sterling Bank, despite allegedly knowing that the funds were proceeds of crime.

The prosecution maintained that the defendants’ actions contravened multiple provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.

Among those listed to testify for the prosecution are EFCC investigators, bank officials, real estate agents, and Bureau de Change operators.