A former Nigerian official tasked with protecting retirement funds secretly purchased real estate in the United States and the United Arab Emirates while public money went missing, newly uncovered property records show.
Abdulrasheed Maina, who led Nigeria’s Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms from 2010 to 2013, was convicted of money laundering in 2021 and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was released early in February 2025. Despite his conviction, he continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Records obtained by investigative journalists reveal that Maina bought three properties in the United States during his tenure as pension reform chief, paying cash for all of them. He also acquired a hotel apartment in Dubai shortly after being removed from his position.
One of the U.S. properties, purchased for $215,000 in Frankfort, Kentucky, in August 2010, is now occupied by his former wife, Laila Abdulrasheed Maina. Two additional Kentucky homes, bought through his company VIU Investment LLC for a combined $415,000 in August 2011, were later transferred to a trust established for his children.
The Dubai property, a two-bedroom hotel apartment valued at nearly $670,000, was purchased in June 2013 and is currently held by his daughter.
Prosecutors allege that during the same period Maina was acquiring these properties, he was diverting pension funds through fraudulent contracts. Court documents state that in July 2010, just a month before buying his first U.S. home, Maina received approximately $1.7 million through sham contracts for biometric enrollment of pensioners.
The scandal has drawn intense public attention in Nigeria. Maina fled the country in 2013 to avoid arrest, was secretly reinstated to a government position in 2017, and was finally captured in 2019 after a dramatic hotel raid where his son brandished a pistol and crashed a bulletproof vehicle.
Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency has seized at least 20 properties within the country, but has not yet moved to recover the foreign assets. An agency spokesperson indicated they would likely investigate properties held abroad if provided with relevant information.
Maina faces additional charges of receiving stolen property, with prosecutors claiming he dishonestly obtained 700 million naira through fraudulent contracts and allowances. That case remains pending.
Following a divorce settlement in 2022, a U.S. court awarded possession of the Frankfort property to Maina’s ex-wife, who had previously attempted to claim ownership of multiple Nigerian properties authorities said were purchased with stolen funds.
Despite his conviction and the ongoing legal battles, Maina was recently appointed as a patron by a local branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, which also presented him with a “Rule of Law and Courage Award.” The national bar association condemned the appointment and launched disciplinary proceedings against the lawyer responsible.