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From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom, said it has recovered $23,439,724.98 siphoned out of Nigeria in the 1990s by the associates and family of former Nigerian Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
The funds, the NCA added, formed part of a larger pool of monies identified by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) as having been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates.
“Acting on a request from the USDOJ, the NCA pursued nearly seven years of protracted litigation and international negotiation to obtain the recovery order, to enforce the US forfeiture order relating to the recovered monies. The funds have now been transferred to the Home Office for onward transmission to the USDOJ,” the NCA said.
Billy Beattie, Asset Denial Senior Manager at the NCA, said: “The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a safe haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime, and civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fight.
“We work closely with UK and international partners to tackle the threat posed by corruption, which disproportionately impacts the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. We are committed to ensuring that those who perpetuate corruption do not benefit from their actions.”
The NCA further said its case is ongoing with further monies having been identified by the USDOJ as having also been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates.
