The Government of Jersey, the Federal Republic of Nigeria
and the Government of the United States of America have entered into an Asset
Recovery Agreement to repatriate over US$308 million of forfeited assets to
Nigeria.
This was contained in a press statement published on the
website of US Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria on Tuesday.
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The funds were laundered through the US banking system and
then held in bank accounts in Jersey in the name of Doraville Properties
Corporation, a BVI company, and in the name of the son of the former Head of
State of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha.
In 2014 a U.S. Federal Court in Washington DC forfeited the
money as property involved in the illicit laundering of the proceeds of
corruption arising in Nigeria during the period from 1993 to 1998 when General
Abacha was Head of State.
This case is a result of extensive co-operation between the
Jersey authorities, the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the
United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with crucial assistance from other
governments around the world.
At the time the case was filed as part of the U.S.
Department of Justice’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative in 2013, it was
the largest U.S. kleptocracy forfeiture action ever commenced.
In 2014 the Attorney General of Jersey applied for, and was
granted, a Property Restraint Order over the Jersey bank account balance of
Doraville.
This was challenged in the Royal Court of Jersey and Court
of Appeal, and an application for permission to appeal to the Privy Council by
Doraville was refused. France and the United Kingdom restrained additional
funds at U.S. request.
General Abacha and his associates stole and laundered many
hundreds of millions of dollars of public money during his military regime,
doing vast harm to the futures of Nigerians.
The monies were laundered by his family, including his sons
Ibrahim and Mohammed, and a number of close associates.
The laundering operation extended to the United States and
European jurisdictions such as the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland,
Lichtenstein and Luxembourg.
In 2018, Governments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
United States of America and the Bailiwick of Jersey commenced the negotiation
of the procedures for the repatriation, transfer, disposition and management of
the assets.
The tripartite agreement signed this week represents a major
watershed in international cooperation in asset recovery and repatriation, and
will provide benefit to people throughout Nigeria.
The projects on which the funds will be expended will be
administered by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and independently
audited.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria will establish a Monitoring
Team to oversee the implementation of the projects and to report regularly on
progress.
The Nigerian government, in consultation with the other
Parties, will also engage Civil Society Organisations, who have expertise in
substantial infrastructure projects, civil engineering, anti-corruption
compliance, anti-human trafficking compliance, and procurement to provide
additional monitoring and oversight.