After months of intense rumours, New Scotland Yard Detectives DC John McDonald, DC Nicholas Greenwood and DI Gary Walters (now retired) have been identified as the beneficiaries of over £20,000 of illegal cash payments from RISC Management Limited for confidential information in the James Ibori case. Other officers identified in the complaint include DC Ben Irons, DC Peter Clarke and DS George Simpson have also been implicated in possible attempts to pervert the course of justice. The Detectives form part of SCD6’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit. It is stated that in 2006, during the early stages of the Ibori investigation, his UK Lawyers (Speechly Bircham Solicitors) engaged in the services of a private detective agency called RISC Management Limited. Around £20,000 of known payments have been identified as being paid directly to DI Walters and DC McDonald over a period of twelve months in a series of cash payments.

The Evening Standard originally exposed this matter on the 31st October 2011, having received the leaked invoices. Tom Watson, the Labour MP who helped to expose the phone-hacking, said: “This is a very serious development and goes to the heart of the inappropriate relationships between the Met and private investigators that have emerged in recent months”.

At the heart of these deeply disturbing allegations is RISC Management Limited. The private detective agency is operated by Keith Hunter and Cliff Knuckey, both former Scotland Yard Detectives. According to recent newswire reports, Hunter offered his services to Speechly Bircham’s Ian Timlin in 2006. Ibori’s high-powered lawyers at the time were vigorously contesting the UK freezing order on Ibori’s assets, and the legalities surrounding the admissibility of material illegally and unlawfully taken from Nigeria by DC McDonald and DC Greenwood. At the time and in order to induce the relationship, Hunter and Knuckey are reported to have offered their ability to provide specific details of police activity surrounding the case. RISC Management Limited, through Hunter, declined to comment on the allegations, as the matter is currently being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

It is understood that a detective working in the Unit came across the evidence of these substantial and illegal payments to his colleagues after he had obtained a number of critical documents from RISC officers, having served them with a Production Order in 2008. At the same time, a former RISC employee had identified up to 14 other cases where similar corrupt and illegal payments for information appear to have been made. Payments in excess of £100,000 have been mentioned to an array of serving Detectives and Revenue officials. All these cases will no doubt form part of what is likely to be a long and intensive investigation. The entirety of the allegations are supported by damming and incontrovertible documentary evidence which sets out specific details of cash payments at a variety of locations, which have been submitted to the IPCC. This will not be the first time Hunter has been caught up in a scandal. Similar allegations were made in 2006 after The Times and a leading respected journalist, Michael Gillard, reported the illegal cash payments for sensitive Home Office and Police information to New Scotland Yard detectives. In that case it was DS Gary Flood who worked in the Yard’s Extradition Unit. Hunter is believed to have widespread contacts in the Metropolitan Police Service and the HM Revenue and Customs.

Hunter at the time claimed that Flood and he were friends, and that they had a joint bank account for horseracing purposes. Whilst the cash for information continues, more revelations point to a more sinister, unethical and illegal activity. It is now believed that Hunter and Knuckey were reporting back to DC McDonald and DC Greenwood full details of Ibori’s defence and indeed leaking confidential defence documents and advice covered by legal privilege. These actions would have undermined the defence catastrophically. Operation Eleveden is headed by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers. Its objective is to investigate police corruption, and in particular illegal payments to serving police officers, in exchange for information. Just how widespread the culture of illegal cash payments is, is unknown.

Colleagues of DC McDonald, DC Clarke, DC Greenwood and DI Walters will be dumbfounded, but this would explain the wholesale vilification of
Ibori over the last five years as the allegations pile up including media misinformation, unethical conduct, misrepresentation and misleading of the
courts. The IPCC refused to comment, maintaining that it does not discuss live Investigations, and will present its findings in due
course.

The police chief in charge of Operation Eleveden, Deputy Assistant Sue Akers, was recently outraged as a Detective in her own team was arrested over leaks to journalists. The Police chief will want unambiguous and unequivocal answers in the face of incontrovertible evidence of corruption and
abuse of office.

In light of new evidence, the Home Affairs Select Committee has also commenced a full-scale investigation. Mr Keith Vaz, Head of the Committee said: “There are many reputable private investigators who provide a valuable service but some elements of the industry still operate in the shadows. We hope to discover the full extent of the activities of private investigators and to decide whether the public… should be protected by a regime of statutory regulation.”