Falana Narrates how He Turned Down N405m Money Laundering Deal from Governor

Falana Narrates how He Turned Down N405m Money Laundering Deal from Governor

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), in a newsletter released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday, has narrated how he rejected a money laundering deal worth N405 million from a governor.

The senior lawyer, while admonishing lawyers at an anti-corruption workshop to exercise caution in their interaction with politically exposed persons, stated that the governor offered to pay him £1 million if he helped to launder an undisclosed sum of money, Vanguard reports.

The unnamed governor had approached the learned silk to assist in moving the huge sum of money to an undisclosed country.

“The governor asked me to assist him in transferring money abroad, and that I should claim it to be proceeds from sale of his property in Nigeria.

“And the price was extremely attractive. He was going to pay me a million pounds then, when money was money

“The governor said he had chosen me for the shady deal, because ‘nobody will suspect you.’ “I told him, ‘Your Excellency, so it is my reputation that you want to buy with your one million pounds?’

“Some of my colleagues thought I was stupid, but those who accepted the offer later found themselves in trouble, as they were arrested and humiliated. They were only lucky not to have been charged to court,” Falana said.

The outspoken critic of bad governance and money laundering urged lawyers not to succumb to the lure of filthy lucre to assist politically-exposed persons (PEPs) to commit financial crimes.

“Lawyers have a paramount role to play in the fight against economic and financial crimes, as they are the ones usually employed by well-heeled members of the society to help perfect documents for illicit transactions, and to cover up their tracks,” Falana said.

Falana has repeatedly called for stiff sanctions against corrupt public officials including the denial of bail to those on trial for money laundering offences.