Man Sentenced to Eight Years for Money Laundering in Nigeria

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced that Onatayo Pelumi has been sentenced to eight years in prison for money laundering. The EFCC shared this information on Saturday through a statement on its official X account.

Pelumi was found guilty by Justice Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Lagos. He faced five charges related to keeping money from illegal activities in bank accounts at Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank.

The court determined that Pelumi kept various amounts of money in these accounts between January 2023 and June 2026, knowing they were obtained from unlawful actions. For the first charge, he received a three-year prison sentence, with the option to pay a fine of N300,000. For the other four charges, he was sentenced to five years each, also with the option of a N300,000 fine for each count. All sentences will be served at the same time.

In addition to the prison time, the court ordered Pelumi to forfeit two properties and N8 million to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The N8 million is held in his Zenith Bank account. The properties include a half plot of land on Michael Ayorinde Street in Abule-Egba and another half plot on Yisa Street in Meiran, both in Lagos.

The court also mandated Pelumi to complete seven days of community service as part of his sentence.