Appeal court upholds conviction of Maina’s son for money laundering

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld the conviction of Faisal, the son of the jailed ex-Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, for conspiracy and money laundering.

In a judgment on Thursday, a three-member panel of the appellate court however reduced his term of imprisonment from 14 years to seven years on the grounds that he is first- time offender.

In the lead judgment by Justice Ugochukwu Anthony Ogakwu, the court held that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja was right to have convicted Faisal.

It was of the view that being a first time offender, the trial court ought not to have handed the convict the maximum punishment under the law.