I was convicted of money laundering, not corruption –Doyin Okupe

Former Director-General of the defunct Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe, has said he was only convicted of money laundering, but exonerated of corruption charges.

He also said his trial and conviction was politically motivated.

Okupe was on December 19, 2023 convicted by the Federal High Court in Abuja after being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for money laundering to the tune of N700 million.

The court jailed him for two years with an option of fine.

Speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday, he clarified that he was never convicted of corruption as being insinuated in some quarters, alleging that some elements in the presidency were after him.

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Okupe, who was an aide to the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government used the anti-graft agency to punish him.

He said, “I was never convicted of corruption. I was discharged from all 34 charges of corruption. I was discharged completely.

“What I was convicted of was money laundering which is not corruption. I was being funded under the directive of Mr President by the NSA.

“My trial was politically motivated. My arrest and prosecution by the EFCC was malicious. It was not even a prosecution but persecution. For you to convict someone of money laundering, there must be concealment but I have never concealed anything.

“Secondly, there must be a direct benefit to the person who collected the money but there was no direct benefit to me and I was able to prove that in the court. Some people in the presidency wanted to punish me.”