Corrupt general’s $300m loot to benefit Nigeria

Tuesday 04 February 2020

More than $300m plundered from the Nigerian public purse by a corrupt general who stored the laundered cash in a Jersey bank account is finally being returned to the country to be used for projects aimed at alleviating poverty.

The repatriation comes as a result of a landmark agreement between Jersey, Nigeria and the United States of America signed this week.

General Sani Abacha stole hundreds of millions of dollars during his regime through thefts and inflated invoices, harming the future of the Nigerian people, during a period of corruption in the 1990s when he was Head of State.

Pictured: The outcome is the result of more than two decades' work by Jersey's Law Officers in collaboration with international authorities.

That money was then laundered by his family – in particular, his sons Ibrahim and Mohammed – and associates through the US banking system and placed into bank accounts in Jersey under the name of the ‘Doraville Properties Corporation.'

The illicit activity was uncovered following extensive co-operation between the Jersey authorities and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the US Department of Justice, the FBI and Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In 2014, Jersey’s Attorney General applied for a Property Restraint Order over the account’s balance, which was challenged in the Royal Court and Court of Appeal. Doraville also applied for permission to appeal to the Privy Council, but was refused.

After the case fell at its last hurdle, Jersey was able to enforce the order, and $267,751,992.02 was paid into the Civil Asset Recovery Fund, a Fund managed by the Minister for Treasury and Resources.

Subsequent discussions over the assets’ repatriation have now concluded, with a three-way agreement between Jersey, Nigeria and the US this week that will ensure the funds are used to benefit people throughout Nigeria.

Pictured: The three-way repatriation agreement was signed by Attorney General-designate, Mark Temple QC.

The projects, which will be independently audited, will span the areas of anti-corruption and anti-trafficking compliance, as well as three major infrastructure projects: the construction of the Ibadan Expressway in Lagos, Kano Road in Abuja, and the Second Niger Bridge.

Nigerian Minister of Justice and Attorney General Abubakar Malami explained that the projects will, “...boost economic growth and help alleviate poverty by connecting people and supply chains from the East to the West and to the Northern part of Nigeria, a vast area covering several kilometres with millions of the country’s population set to benefit from the road infrastructures."

Jersey’s Solicitor General and Attorney General designate, Mark Temple QC, who signed the agreement on behalf of Jersey, described the repatriation as a “significant achievement” that “demonstrates Jersey’s commitment to tackling international financial crime and money laundering."

Senator Ian Gorst, Jersey’s Minister for External Relations, said that the island’s authorities had done, “...everything in their power to investigate what happened and to return the money to its rightful owners, the people of Nigeria."

Pictured: Minister for External Relations, Senator Ian Gorst.

Praising the Law Officers’ Department, and their international colleagues, he added: “As a leading international finance centre with an effective and robust regulatory regime, Jersey has a responsibility to firmly address any instances of alleged money laundering and corruption. 

“Our commitment to seeing these funds repatriated has led to a positive outcome for the people of Nigeria, has established lasting partnerships and given us a pioneering role in asset-recovery that is based on the principles of national interest, trust and mutual respect.”