The Senate President, Bukola Saraki’s family and a
former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, were
among some prominent Africans named in a newly
discovered secret offshore assets scam released by a
German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The German newspaper on Monday released the
Panama Papers, the biggest leak in the history of data
journalism, publishing online 11.5 million documents
from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which
showed how world leaders, celebrities, athletes, FIFA
officials and criminals hid money using anonymous
shell corporations across the world.
The Panamanian law firm, regarded as one of the
world’s most secretive companies, according to the
documents, has helped clients launder money, dodge
sanctions and evade tax.
The data was obtained by the German newspaper
Süddeutsche Zeitung
and shared by the International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists with over 100 other media
partners in 82 countries.
Newsweek quoting the report disclosed that Ibori was
linked to four offshore companies including Stanhope
Investments, which he allegedly used to open a Swiss
bank account. The account, it added, was used by Ibori
to channel funds for the purchase of a $20m private jet.
Ibori was governor between 1999 and 2007. He was
convicted in 2012 for fraud totalling nearly £50m by a
London court and is currently serving a 13-year prison
sentence in the UK
.

It was also alleged that about four assets belonging to
the Saraki family were tucked away in secret offshore
territories.
The assets were allegedly not part of the ones declared
by the Senate President nor his wife, Toyin when Saraki
became the governor of Kwara State and after he was
sworn in as the nation’s number three citizen.
Quoting the report, Premium Times said the undeclared
assets by Saraki include Girol Properties Ltd., Sandon
Development Limited, and Landfield International
Developments Ltd.
Girol Properties, the report stated, was registered on
behalf of Toyin by Fonsecca on August 25, 2004, in
the British Virgin Island, a year after her husband,
Bukola, became the governor of Kwara State.
It added that the company documents showed that Mrs.
Saraki “owns 25,000 numbers of shares with a par value
of US$ 1,000 each, and was appointed the first and
only director of the company.
Mrs. Saraki, according to the online medium, however,
in a letter to ICIJ, through her lawyers, denied ever
owning any shareholding in Girol Properties.
According to ICIJ, the second undeclared asset, Sandon
Development Limited, was registered in Seychelles
Island on January 12, 2011 and had Mrs. Saraki and
one Babatunde Morakinyo, of 11 Okeme Street, Lagos,
as shareholders.
While incorporating that company, documents show,
Mrs. Saraki bought a curious service from Mossack
Fonseca & Co, the Panamanian firm that helped her to
register the firm.
The online medium noted that this was done by
Saraki’s wife in order to avoid being identified as the
beneficial owner of Sandon, the Senate President’s wife
asked Mossack Fonsecca to provide nominee directors
for the company.
Nominee directors, according to the report are
sometimes used in tax havens to conceal real owners of
companies and assets.

It added that after the company was incorporated, Mrs.
Saraki used it in July 2011, to allegedly buy the
property on Whuttaker Street, Belgravia, London
SW1W 8JQ.
Landfield International Developments Ltd., a company
registered in the British Virgin Islands on April 8,
2014. It’s registration number is 1819394 while its
registered office is 1 Akara Blog., 24 De Castro Street,
Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin
Island.
According to Mossack Fonseca, the registered agent of
the company, Mrs. Saraki, at least until January 27,
2015, was sole shareholder and beneficial owner of the
company which had two nominee directors – Glaisd
Alie Limited and NewGombe Limited – both appointed
on September 2, 2014. Its agent says Landfield is
authorized to issue a maximum of 50,000 no par value
shares.
However, Mrs Saraki had denied ownership of these
companies in a letter her lawyer wrote to the ICIJ.
But Saraki, while reacting to the report, said the assets
allegedly linked to him actually belonged to the
family of his wife which he was not obliged to declare
under the law.
He, however, said he had fully complied with the
provisions of the law on the declaration of assets by
public officers.
He stated this in a statement issued by his Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu.
Saraki said he had, in his different asset declarations,
included properties owned individually by himself and
his wife.
He explained that the property in question formed part
of his wife’s family asset.
The statement partly read, “ It is public knowledge that
Mrs. Saraki comes from a family of independent means
and wealth with numerous and varied assets acquired
over decades in family estates and investments.
“Furthermore, the law only requires a public officer to
declare both his own assets and those held by his
spouse and his children under 18 years of age. The law
does not require a public officer to declare assets held
by the spouse’s family.
“It is not expected by the law that a public officer
should declare such assets held in the spouse’s family
estate. Indeed, the Code of Conduct form does not
make provision for declaration of spouse’s family
assets.”
Other Africans named in the hidden assets scam
included the nephew of embattled South African
President Jacob Zuma, Khulubuse Zuma, Kalpana
Rawal, the Deputy Chief Justice and Deputy President
of Kenya’s Supreme Court.
Some Nigerians and civil right groups who reacted to
the fresh scam called for the prosecution of anybody
involved in such an illegal transfer of funds.
The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa-
Rafsanjani, in a telephone interview with The
PUNCH, in Abuja, said civil society had for the past
18 years clomoured for a thorough investigation of
individuals and corporate organizations such as banks
and construction companies that had been used as
conduits to fritter away our common patrimony.

The Executive Chairman of the Coalition Against
Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said the group
could no longer be shocked by any such a revelation,
given that the Saraki’s family had been in public office
for long and had had for long had access to the
country’s resources.
Also, a former Lagos State Police Commissioner,
Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, said it was time Nigeria
tightened its anti-corruption/ money laundering laws.
He noted that our laws as they were appear to threat
economic crimes with levity.
According to him, it is sad that most of our government
officials both elected and appointed think more of
enriching themselves as soon as they enter office
instead of working for the common good.
Tsav said, “The best thing our government can do now
is to strengthen our laws to prevent people who stole
our common wealth from taking such monies abroad
either by themselves or through proxies using offshore
accounts.

A security expert, Max Gbanite has said that the United
Kingdom law could take its course against Saraki, if it
was proven that he had hidden properties and bank
accounts in London.
Gbanite said, “If he (Saraki) was found to have hidden
properties in UK, the UK law should take its course, if
the Federal Government gets a good lawyer. The
corruption cases cannot go far if there is no special
court and they must not take longer than six months.
The EFCC forensic department is capable of finding
out if the properties belong to Saraki and this could be
proved in court.”
The Executive Director of the Civil Liberties
Organisation, Mr. Ibuchukwu Ezike, said the disclosure
by the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists remained a rumour until properly
investigated by authorised agencies.
Ezike said, “Whatever allegations that are being made,
the matter is already in court; so, until the court decides
on the matter, we cannot have a contrary opinion. We
await the outcome of the case.
“The International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists is not a prosecuting agency, whatever they
say is still like a rumour; they don’t have the power to
file charges or prosecute and we know that the matter is
in court, we cannot intervene or meddle in a matter that
is already in court. The CLO is a law-abiding
organisation, we cannot say or do anything that will
interfere with the judicial process.”

http://www.punchng.com/panamapaper-saraki-ibori-in-fresh-controversy-over-secret-assets/

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#ShootTheLooters

Saraki again? Just wondering how he became the senate president. End time

Truly, we have been ambushed by this politicians with kleptomaniac fingers. End time