A new legal advice from the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has exonerated embattled former head of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), DCP Abba Kyari, from complicity in the laundering of $1.1 million he was accused of by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alongside international fraudster, Abass Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
The new twist into the monumental scam involving the suspended Kyari and Hushpuppi as well as other accomplices, emerged on Saturday when Malami’s office issued the new legal advice which all but exonerated Kyari from the money laundering allegations for which he was declared wanted by the FBI, which also led to his suspension pending an internal investigation by the Police Service Commission (PSC).
In the first legal advice, the Attorney-General had admitted that a “prima-facie case of money laundering of 33 payments (proceeds of crime) was established” by the Special Investigation Panel led by the now late DIG Joseph Egbunike, against Kyari.
But a few days after the demise of Egbunike, Malami came up with another legal advice on which he said there were no clear links to the money laundering allegations with Kyari following further investigations.
The new legal advice with reference number, DPPA/LA/814/21, which was written on behalf of the AGF by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Abubakar, emphasized that the “evidence contained in the case diary had no link between DCP Abba Kyari and Hushpuppi.”
It also noted that the evidence contained in the case diary “was not sufficient to indicate or show that the said monies (N279 million) were laundered directly or indirectly by Kyari to disguise their origin,” as ‘the police report on the investigation failed to probe the gaps identified in their investigation by the AGF office.
The legal advise entitled ‘Re: Forwarding of the investigation report of the Nigeria Police Force Special Investigation Team and request for legal advice with regards to allegations of criminal conspiracy, aiding and abetting Internet fraud, wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering against DCP Abba Kyari,” and addressed to IGP Usman Alkali Baba, reads:
