Former top finance official sentenced to 72-year prison term over £1.8m embezzlement scheme

A former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, has been handed a 72-year prison sentence for his role in a massive N868.46 million fraud, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission announced on Monday.

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The conviction came after the EFCC prosecuted Nwabuoku at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he faced charges related to money laundering, according to a post on the commission's X handle.

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The statement from the EFCC revealed that Nwabuoku's conviction and sentencing were the culmination of a lengthy prosecution process, with the former accountant-general found guilty of laundering a substantial sum of money.

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Nwabuoku's tenure as acting Accountant-General of the Federation was short-lived, having been appointed in May 2022 and removed just a few weeks later, following the suspension of his predecessor Ahmed Idris over an alleged N800 million fraud.

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The EFCC had initially arraigned Nwabuoku on January 15, 2025, on nine amended counts of money laundering, and he was subsequently granted bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties in like sum.

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The first count of the charges alleged that Nwabuoku, in collusion with several companies, including Temero Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited, and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited, conspired to convert funds believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

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This alleged offence was said to have contravened Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended, and is punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

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The EFCC also alleged that Nwabuoku was involved in the laundering of approximately N86 million during his time as Director of Finance and Accounts at the Ministry of Defence, a position he held between 2019 and 2021.

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The prosecution's case was bolstered by the testimony of nine witnesses, including Eucharia Ezeodi, a staff member at Zenith Bank, and Felix Nweke, a director in the federal civil service, who were called to testify during the trial.