Court seizes £211 million stolen by Nigeria’s former head of state, Sani Abacha

A British court has seized £211 million (N75.96 billion) looted by the former Nigerian dictator and military head of state, General Sani Abacha.

According to report by the UK Metro, the said money was seized from a Jersey bank account that belonged to General Abacha.

The money was put in accounts held in Jersey by Doraville Properties Corporation, a British Virgin Islands company.

The money worth £211,000,000 was laundered through the U.S. into the Channel Islands, but eventually discovered and recovered.

The report said, “Money to the value of £211,000,000 has been seized from a Jersey bank account that belonged to a former dictator.

“General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian army officer and de facto president between 1993 until his death in 1998.

“He laundered money through the U.S. into the Channel Islands and now that money has been recovered.

“The money was put in accounts held in Jersey by Doraville Properties Corporation, a British Virgin Islands company.

“The money is now being held by the government until authorities in Jersey, the U.S. 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. In the past the fund has been used for the new police station and developments at La Moye Prison.

“It is expected that even more money held by Doraville is likely to be seized and paid into the Civil Asset Recovery Fund in the future.”

Attorney General Robert MacRae said: “In restraining the funds at the request of the United States of America, through whose banking system the funds were laundered prior to arriving here, and in achieving the payment of the bulk of the funds into the Civil Asset Recovery Fund, Jersey has once again demonstrated its commitment to tackling international financial crime and money laundering.”