$308 million Abacha loot will soon be returned to Nigeria

Nigeria on Monday, February 3, 2020, secured an agreement with the governments of the Island of Jersey and the United States (U.S.) for the repatriation of over $308 million looted by Sani Abacha, the country's former Head of State.

In a press statement published on the website of the US Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria, it was disclosed that 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 Abacha's son. It was gathered that 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 in Nigeria between 1993 and 1998. Abacha was Nigeria's Head of State during this period. The 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. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had stated that the newly-secured Abacha loot will be spent on the construction of the three major infrastructure projects across Nigeria. The projects, according to Malami, are Lagos – Ibadan Expressway, Abuja – Kano Expressway and the Second Niger bridge.

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