The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) on Monday initiated criminal proceedings against the Managing Director of TMDK Terminals Limited, Amadu Sule, accusing him of laundering over N311 billion through multiple bank accounts.
Sule was tried before the Federal High Court in Kaduna on five counts of money laundering and unlawful retention of proceeds of alleged fraud. He pleaded not guilty.
According to court filings, investigators traced the money to accounts controlled by Sule at Fidelity Bank, Stanbic IBTC and Providus Bank. ICPC said the money was transferred through the accounts under the guise of payment for petroleum product supplies.
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The anti-corruption agency told the court that the money came from several companies, including INT Towers Limited, IHS Nigeria Limited, IHS Towers NG Limited and Boaz Commodities Limited, and Sule “reasonably should have known” the transactions were not legitimate.
Prosecutors further alleged that Sule and TMDK Terminals Limited retained the tax components generated from the transactions despite knowing that the underlying deals were fraudulent, a crime that carries stiff penalties under Nigeria's money laundering laws.
The charges have been filed under sections 18(3) and 18(4) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which criminalize the intentional retention of illicit proceeds.
The presiding judge adjourned the case till January 15 to hear arguments on the defendant's bail application.
Sule is known to have business and political ties with former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai. He is the second person linked to the former governor to face prosecution by the ICPC in recent months.
In January 2025, the commission indicted Jimmy Lawal, a former aide of El-Rufai, on separate charges of fraud and money laundering.
