In the dock on Tuesday in cold and rainy London, James
Ibori, former Governor of Nigeria’s oil rich Delta State stood alone. “His
Excellency”, stood humbly before a judge at Southwark Crown Court. Ibori waited
with racing heart for the judge to tell him how long he was going to stay in a
cold lonely UK jail. He was eventually told 13 years though likely to serve
four and half years.
In jail, Ibori is not going to be alone. He will be with his
wife, mistress, sister and even lawyer all serving different jail terms ranging
from five to ten years for helping Ibori launder millions of pounds stolen when
he was governor of Delta State between 1999 and 2007.
The only partners in crime that Ibori will miss in jail are
his bankers. While all close acquaintances that helped Ibori launder the
millions he stole as Delta State governor are behind bars, his bankers who
facilitated the process are walking free. Yet, they made millions from helping
Ibori move the funds around.
The leading prosecutor in Ibori’s case Sasha Wass QC, revealed
in court how Ibori used multiple accounts at Barclays, HSBC, Citibank and Abbey
National to launder the millions he stole. The prosecutor revealed that these
banks helped pass around millions of pounds, some of which were used to
purchase expensive properties in London and South Africa.
Giving insights into
how the money moved around between the banks, the prosecutor revealed how US$4.8
million (N1.25 billion) was transferred from a Barclays account belonging to a
company in which Ibori was formerly a director to another account at Barclays
controlled by Ibori’s lawyer, Badhresh Gohil who is currently serving a 10 year
jail sentence for helping Ibori launder money.
The Prosecutor revealed that the funds were passed through
two Swiss accounts, including one at a branch of Schroders in Zurich, a global
asset management company which manages about £187 billion on behalf of global
clients. This money was used as part payment for a private jet for Ibori.
The prosecutor also revealed how Ibori had numerous Barclay’s
accounts. They described how in one case between 1999 and 2006 Ibori deposited
£1.5 million (N390 million) in cash in a Knightsbridge branch of Barclays.
Also Ibori had two bank accounts in America at Citibank and
was said to have ran up a $920,000 (N143 million) American Express credit bill
between 2003 and 2006. He bought a $1.8 million (N279 million) house in
Houston, as well as moving at least $500,000 (N78 million) through his lawyer’s
client account at now liquidated AIDT bank in Denver, Colorado.
Among the properties that Ibori splashed money include a
house in Hampstead, North London, for £2.2m (N572 million), a property in
Shaftesbury, Dorset, for £311,000 (N81 million), a £3.2m (N832 million) mansion
in Sandton, near Johannesburg, South Africa, a fleet of armoured Range Rovers
valued at £600,000 (N156 million), £120,000(N31 million) Bentley, and Mercedes
Maybach for 407,000 euros (N69 million) that was shipped directly to his
mansion in South Africa.
Though the value of the fraud that Ibori was charged with in
court was put at £50 million (N13 billion), but the judge admitted that the
actual money stolen by Ibori is unquantifiable and could be as much as £200
million (N52 billion).
UK banks love affair
with Nigeria’s political looters
Goodluck Jonathan-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Interestingly, in the past many of the banks now named in
Ibori’s case were also involved in laundering money on behalf of former
Nigerian governors. It would be recalled that Alamieyeiaseigha, (Alams for
short) who was former governor of Bayelsa state, had to jump bail and escape
from the UK when he was arrested in September 2005 on money laundering charges
by the metropolitan police.
Global Witness, an NGO which campaigns for transparency in resource
rich countries, in October 2010 released a report titled “International Thief Thief” revealing the details of how UK banks
helped Alams launder millions of pounds in the UK when he was governor.
The accounts used by
Alams in UK to launder millions as a governor include two different bank
account in UBS one with £306,000 (N80 million) as at December 2005 and another
with £1.05 million (N273 million) as at the same date. He also had three
different accounts with HSBC. One of the accounts had £420,000 (N109 million)
as at December 2001, another had £110,948 (N29 million) and third one had
$178,947.50 (N47 million) as at February 2003. Alams also had £2.65 million
(N689 million) as at November 2004 in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is
currently majority owned by the British government.
He had two different accounts with Barclays Bank, one with
£205,376 (N53.3 million) as at March 2005 and another with Barclays Cyprus with
£3 million(N780 million) (held in six different accounts) as at September 2005.
Finally, Alams also had another £290,000(N75 million) in Natwest Bank as at
August 2005. All the accounts were opened by him between 1999 and 2003 when he
was still the governor of Bayelsa State and he was barred from opening foreign
banks accounts.
In the detailed report, the Global Witness describes how UBS
helped Alams launder millions of pounds in UK. It shows that Alams started
stealing money from the accounts of Bayelsa State just three months after
becoming a governor when he approached UBS to open an account at its Mayfair
Offices on Curzon Street, London.
Shortly after opening the account, Alams is said to have
told UBS staff that “he anticipated a sharp rise in his deposits from $35,000
(N9.1 million) to $1.5 million (N390 million). Alams is said to have filled a
form stating that before he became governor, he was a financier and fertilizer
magnate who made his money before he became governor. He said that he had never
held accounts outside Nigeria before but because of rising tension in the
country, he seeks to safeguard his vast wealth by transferring money outside
the country.
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha-laundered billions through UK banks
Following the opening of the account, in early 2001 one
Aliyu Abubakar, identified in court documents simply as Aliyu, who was said to
have been given a £19 million (N4.9bn) contract to construct the Bayelsa State
government lodge paid $1.5 million into Alams UBS account. These payments were
said to have been made at the same time, Aliyu was also arranging to buy a £1.4
million (N364 million) house in Kilburn area of London for Alams.
Also Alams is said to have told UBS, when asked for the
sources of these funds that he sold a palace he owned in Abuja to Aliyu who
Alams described as an oil businessman. Yet, when Alams made his asset
declaration forms in 1999, he declared his total assets to be worth just
£210,000 (N55 million) and he had no property in Abuja in his asset declaration
forms. Later, when Alams tried to
prevent the forfeiture of his money in UBS accounts to the Nigerian government,
he is said to have claimed that the money were donations from his close friends
towards the education of his children.
The Global Witness Report states that “By December 2005,
Alams account in UBS had a balance of $1.8 million (N279 million) in an account
that was in the name of a trust named Falcon while in another account in his
personal name, he had $535,000(N83 million). This was despite declaring in his
2003 asset declaration form that he was worth only £485,400 (N126 million) with
an expect income of £22,680 (N6 million).
In 2001, Aliyu was said to have facilitated the purchase of
£1.4 million (N364 millin) property on 14, Mapesbury Road, in Kilburn in North
West London for Alams using his account with HSBC. The house was bought in the
name of a British Virgin Island registered Shell company called Salomon and
Peters which was wholly owned by Alams.
Also eight months after Aliyu bought a property for Alams, he
is said to have approached HSBC to open an account with the bank with an
opening balance of £420,000(N109 million) paid in by Aliyu. In total, Alams is
said to have opened six different accounts with HSBC between December 2001 and
2003, all at the same branch.
Alams taste for London properties grew more expensive the
longer he stayed as governor. The Global Witness report shows that in December
1999, few months after becoming a governor, he bought flat 202 at Jubilee Heights in Cricklewood,
northwest London in the name of his company, Salomon and Peters and paid for by
one Mr Soberekon “who had received a contract to repair and overhaul two gas
turbines in Bayelsa State” The payment was made through London Trust Bank Plc.
Interestingly though London Trust Bank describes itself as non-bank financial
institution registered with the HM Revenue and Customs, the company is also
listed by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), which regulates the
financial system in UK as a “unauthorised internet bank”
Also in July 2003, Alams bought a fourth London property for
£1.75 million (N455 million), a luxury penthouse apartment, 247 The Water
Gardens in the heart of London’s West End. This was the house that Alams was
arrested and when searched, the metropolitan police recovered £1.0 million
(N260 million) in cash.
Another Bank that received bribes on behalf of Alams was the
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) which received £1.5 million(N390 million) paid
into an RBS account held in the name of another offshore Shell company
registered owned by Alams called Santolina. Alams was the sole shareholder and
director of Santolina. Between January
2004 when the Santolina Account was opened and March 2005, the account received
26 deposits totalling £2.7 million (N702 million). On 1 November 2004, a transfer
of £949,000 (N247 million) was made out of this account to pay for a penthouse
apartment in the upscale Waterfront development in Cape Town.
Alams in 2007 pleaded to six counts of corruption in
Nigeria. He was sentenced to two years in imprisonment on each count but spent
just a few days in prison on the excuse that he had served part of the time
already. His stolen assets were sold and the money returned to Bayelsa State
government. Though the Bayelsa state government claimed that the money will be
used to build what it called a Transparency Plaza in the state, it is not clear
if this plaza was ever built.
Please, is there anyone reading this blog, who is sure what
this recovered loot from Alams was ever done with in Bayelsa State? Your
comment will be appreciated. It is also interesting that Timipre Sylva, the
last governor of Bayelsa State is also now facing a six count charge of
stealing N2.6 billion (£10 million) from the State.
Read the second part
of this post tomorrow on how UK banks helped Joshua Dariye and Abacha launder money
in UK and the role played by Nigerian banks.
Why do you think
corruption is so endemic in Nigeria? Please share your comments below..
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