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U.S. Agrees to Return $480m Abacha Loot to Nigeria

The United States has agreed to repatriate to Nigeria about $480million believed to have been stolen by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha and his family.

But the conditions for the repatriation of the cash  and other details are being worked out.

Also, it was learnt that the Department of Justice in the United States now has a Kleptocracy Unit, which will assist to track looted funds and money laundered by public officials from Nigeria and other nations.

The loot has been described as the largest ever traced to a former Nigerian public officer in the U.S.

The Department of Justice of the United States had in the last few years initiated forfeiture proceedings against the Abachas.

The proceedings made it possible for the Abacha family and its associates to forfeit over $550million and £95,910 in 10 accounts and six investment portfolios linked to them in France, Britain, British Virgin Islands and the United States.

The Criminal Division of the Office of International Affairs of the US Department of Justice, in a letter to the Federal Government, identified the accounts where Abacha loot was hidden.

The highlights are as follows: Doraville Properties Corporation – $287 million in Account Number 80020796 located at Deutsche Bank International Limited in the Bailiwick of Jersey; HSBC Fund Administration (Jersey) – $12 million in account number S-104460 in the Bailiwick of Jersey; and Rayville International, S. A – $1 million in account number 223405880IUSD at Banque SBA in Paris, France.

Others are Standard Alliance Financial Services Limited – $144 million in account 223406510PUSD at Banque SBA in Paris; Mecosta Securities – $21.7 million in accounts 10030688 and 100138409 at Standard Bank in the United Kingdom;  and HSBC Bank Plc – $1.6 million in account number 38175076.

Also listed are  Blue Holding (1) Pte Ltd/ Ridley Group Limited – £6,806,900; Blue Holding  (2) Pte. Ltd/ Ridley Group Limited – £21,846,983; Blue Holding (1) Pte. Ltd/ Ridley Group Limited – £10,293,343.58; Blue Holding (2) Pte. Ltd/Ridley Group Limited – £56,962,996.26

It was learnt that the Abacha family had pledged to cooperate with the Federal Government.

But the EFCC is still probing the whereabouts of £22.5m (N6.18billion) loot which the late Gen. Abacha allegedly stashed away on the Island of Jersey.

No fewer than three prominent Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) have been quizzed by the EFCC on the whereabouts of the records of the recovered £22.5m (N6.18billion).

 

 

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Copyright 2015 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.

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