Another fresh loot of former Nigerian dictator, General Sani Abacha, has been discovered 21 years after the late Military Head of State, exited power.
The over $267 million traced to the family of the late army general, Igbere TV learnt, was seized from a British Virgin Islands bank and deposited into government coffers in State of Jersey.
The money was a part of more than $300 million stash the Jersey State government said on its website was “laundered through the US banking system by people including President Abacha’s son Mohammed” during the military regime of General Sani Abacha.
“On Friday 31 May 2019 US$267,751,992.02 was paid into the Civil Asset Recovery Fund,” Jersey State said.
“This fund is managed by the Minister for Treasury and Resources in accordance with the Civil Asset Recovery (International Co-operation) (Jersey) Law 2007, from assets that were previously held by Doraville Properties Corporation.”
Igbere TV recalls that a ‘kleptocracy’ initiative launched by the United States Justice Department under Barack Obama in 2014 collected a $500 million once held by the former Nigerian dictator and his cronies.
Abacha who ruled Nigeria between 1993 until his death in 1998, is suspected to have laundered $2.2 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria through the United States to the Channels Island.
The $267 has been a subject of a legal tussle between Doraville and the US authorities.
The money will be held by the government until authorities in Jersey, the US and Nigeria come to an agreement on how it should be distributed.
Any money that Jersey does keep will be put into the Criminal Confiscation Fund, which is used to pay for a variety of projects.
