The federal government has received yet another tranche of dollars from the United State out of the funds stolen by late military head of state General Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators.
This was disclosed by United States Department of Justice when it announced that at least $20.6m have been transferred to the Federal Government in respect to the agreement between the governments to repatriate assets stolen by the late dictator.
In a statement sighted on the DoJ website earlier in the week, the latest repatriation brings the total amount forfeited and returned by the US in this case to approximately $332.4m.
Recall that in 2020, the department repatriated over $311.7m of the forfeited assets that had been located in the Bailiwick of Jersey.
Last year, the United Kingdom enforced the US judgment against the additional $20.6m.
According to report, In 2014, a judgment was entered in the District of Columbia ordering the forfeiture of approximately $500m located in accounts around the world, as the result of a civil forfeiture complaint for more than $625m traceable to money laundering involving the proceeds of Abacha’s corruption.
The statement read, ‘’The United Kingdom’s cooperation in the investigation, restraint, and enforcement of the US judgment, along with the valuable contributions of Nigeria and other law enforcement partners around the world, including the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, as well as those of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, have been instrumental to the recovery of these funds.
‘’Under the agreement signed in August, the US agreed to transfer 100 per cent of the net forfeited assets to Nigeria to support three critical infrastructure projects in Nigeria that were previously authorised by Nigerian President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and the Nigerian legislature.
‘’The $20,637,622.27 marks a slight reduction from the $23m announced in August due primarily to exchange rate fluctuations between British pounds sterling and US dollars. The funds governed by this agreement will help finance the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and the Abuja-Kano road – investments that will benefit the citizens.
The department acknowleged the extensive assistance provided by the governments of the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Jersey, and France in this investigation.
It explained that the case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section working in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The US, however, encouraged individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the US to contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.
