Washington - The United States has taken control of more
than $480 million looted by former Nigerian dictator Sani
Abacha and his associates after a court ruling, the Justice
Department said on Thursday.
The money stolen during Abacha's 1993-1998 de facto presidency
of the oil-rich African nation and stashed in banks around the
world will be returned to the Nigerian government, the
department said in a statement.
"Rather than serve his county, General Abacha used his public
office in Nigeria to loot millions of dollars, engaging in brazen
acts of kleptocracy," Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell
said in the statement.
U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington ordered on
Wednesday that the funds, frozen by the Justice Department in
March, be forfeited to U.S. control.
The judgment includes about $303 million in two bank accounts
in the British offshore center of Jersey and $144 million in two
bank accounts in France. Three accounts in the United Kingdom
and Ireland hold at least $27 million, the statement said.
Claims to another $148 million in four investment portfolios in
the United Kingdom are pending.
Abacha, who took took power in a coup, died in 1998. Nigeria
has been fighting for years to recover his money, but companies
linked to the Abacha family have gone to court to prevent
repatriation.
Between $3 billion and $5 billion of public money was looted
during Abacha's regime, according to Transparency International.
The Justice Department suit filed in November 2013 saying that
Abacha, his son Mohammed Sani Abacha, their associate
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and others embezzled, misappropriated
and extorted money from the Nigerian government.
They laundered funds by buying bonds backed by the United
States using U.S. financial institutions, prosecutors said.
The assets were held in banks that included Deutsche Bank
AG , HSBC Holdings Plc and Banque SBA, according to the
lawsuit.
In June, after a 16-year legal battle, Nigeria recovered from
Liechtenstein $228 million stolen by Abacha and his associates.
As of last year, Nigeria had recovered about $1.3 billion of
Abacha's money from various European jurisdictions.

Mek dem chop am! It's useless returning it to Nigeria.

What's their business with that? Is it their money
Nonsense!

What has our government done with the ones recovered before now?

This Abacha loot no dey finish?

May God punish all those who recommended and gave Abacha a centenary award

ideycraze: May God punish all those who recommended and gave Abacha a centenary award

Gbam

what's d use of dem returning it dy should use it and develop dere own country wit d money cuz sending it to diz country iz jx lyk giving another set of looters who call dem self politicians who only care abt dere pocket and nt d masses

Because it is propaganda

better wake up!

uken73: This Abacha loot no dey finish?

Truth is that it has never been traced in our treasury coffers
propaganda pure and simple - Abacha never proven to have looted

Dreal1247: What has our government done with the ones recovered before now?