http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/35666/41/

ABUJA — IT has come to light that over $150 million of the $180 million Halliburton bribe money was allegedly disbursed through the account of [b]former Chief of Air Staff, AVM A.D. Bello (rtd), while the sum of $11.5 million of the bribe money was found in Ibrahim Aliyu’s foreign account, according to sources at the Special Investigation Panel headed by Inspector-General of Polic[/b]e, Mike Okiro.
However, investigators are shocked that AVM Bello is sticking to his defence that though the account through which the $180 million was disbursed was his, he had no knowledge of when or how the huge sum of money was disbursed and who the beneficiaries were.

AVM Bello (rtd) was also a former Managing Director of defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways, while Ibrahim Aliyu is a brother to the governor of Niger State, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu.

Both men have been in detention for some time after their arrest by the investigation panel.

Vanguard gathered that the federal government also at the weekend requested the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to extradite one Mr. Jeffery Tessler, a Briton and lawyer of both AVM Bello and Ibrahim Aliyu who allegedly disbursed the $180 million bribe money through their accounts to help reveal the names of the beneficiaries.

Consequently, the investigating team, led by CP Amodu Ali of the Special Investigation Unit of the Police Force headquarters has no iota of doubt that Air Vice Marshal Bello (rtd) was in a position to disclose the beneficiaries of the Halliburton bribery money and the amount each of them got.

According to Vanguard sources, one of the accounts in question is an off-shore account opened in London for Bello by Jeffery Tessler. He (Bello) said that the account was opened in 2001 and that towards the end of that year (2001), he closed that account to any transaction whatsoever, and was therefore at a loss to how the account was used.
Having tried to reach the lawyer (Tessler) and failed, the Police investigating team asked AVM Bello to furnish it with documents of the offshore account showing that he closed down the account in 2001 and that he was not aware of any transaction with it.

This, our sources said, he has failed to do for almost two weeks now.
Asked how such account could be in operation over a period of time and the documents of transaction carried out with it could not be traced, the source said such offshore accounts don’t need to have directors to be opened, rather what they have is a nominee director and Mr. Tessler is the only nominee director.

“That is why we have requested our American counterparts to intervene on our behalf over the arrest of Mr. Tessler and we are aware that motions have been put in place for the extradition of Mr Tessler to America to answer questions.

Ibrahim Aliyu’s role

On the role of the brother of the governor of Niger State, the source said the same Mr. Tessler who is based in the UK, is both a business partner and lawyer to Ibrahim Aliyu and that he was the one Aliyu used to open an offshore account through which he (Aliyu) was to concretise his ownership of an oil block in Nigeria.

The source noted that when the account was opened in a Swiss bank, a huge amount of money from the Halliburton bribery money was found to have been moved through it while the sum of $11.5million was found in the account. He added that about $5million was also frozen from the same Aliyu’s account by the foreign investigators.

Asked how long it would take before the names of those already made known by foreign investigators of having taken part in the sharing of the $180million was made public, the source said: “That is why we are going the extra mile to get Mr. Tessler because he disbursed the money.”

It will be recalled that following public outcry over the $180million Halliburton bribery scandal, the Federal Government set up a five-man inter-agency investigation panel headed by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mike Okiro.

Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, inaugurated the panel on April 21, 2009, and charged it to, among others, examine the circumstances surrounding the Halliburton bribery scandal in the Bonny Liquefied Natural Gas Project

A senior officer involved in the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity told Vanguard that by the time names are being mentioned in the coming days or we see the calibre of persons that are arrested, Nigerians would be shocked. He added that time has come for Nigerians to be told the truth about what is happening to their country.

Indications are also rife that more important personalities, including very senior citizens of the country both in and outside government are among those indicted. Past ministers, and top government officials would soon be picked up as investigations progresses because of information available to the investigating team, the source said.

Make them name all these people  make we see fowl yansh jare. Frankly speakin i dont think anything serious will come out of this probe as Abdul salami , OBJ and co will kill this case and not let it see the light of the day. This coul dbe yaraduas downfall if he persists with the probe.

Seems the drama is just begining

MrCrackles:

Na today dem don dey name?!

Naming names and not making any useful progress after names get published!

Na true talk u yan , no be naija we dey?

only vigilante justice will work in Nigeria.

FOR GOD'S SAKE, $150 MILLION! *desparately looking for a calculator to convert the amount into naira using 120 as the conversion rate to arrive at 18 Billion*

I am sorry for this country. If this is only a transaction involving one company, Halliburton, imagine the kind of things that have happened and are happening with other sectors of the economy.

Pls, what is AVM Bello saying - tht he owns the account but does not know how the money was disbursed? Look, i have said it before and i will say it again, these people in power think that we are fools o! How can he make that statement. Is he talking to illiterates? Even illiterates cant believe that.

I am of the opinion that the man should be shot. killed with immediate effect. Forget the 'innocent until proven guilty' legal nonsense because it is this same legal system that will set the man free.

My God, i sorry for all of us

A senior officer involved in the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity told Vanguard that by the time names are being mentioned in the coming days or we see the calibre of persons that are arrested, Nigerians would be shocked. He added that time has come for Nigerians to be told the truth about what is happening to their country.

Indications are also rife that more important personalities, including very senior citizens of the country both in and outside government are among those indicted. Past ministers, and top government officials would soon be picked up as investigations progresses because of information available to the investigating team, the source said.

Definately, the poor masses can not be involved. It is the same criminals creme de la criminals creme of our society that can do that.

President Yar'dua sir, nigerians are waiting on you to set yourself as a model of rebranded Nigeria in this case by bringing to justice any one involved in this massive fraud and great injustice to the masses of Nigeria.
Nigeria: Good Leaders, Great Followers.

Frankly speaking, I would only identify disciplinary fibre in the president if he ensures that these cold criminals are condemned to death. Only that would have any effect on any potential signature forger.

It could sound pessimistic but i dont see anything comming out of this panel.

It is just the usual razz matazz or hulla ballu that surrounds corruption cases, after few weeks it iwll just die a natural death and the pressmen will be bribed to keep it out of the pages of Nigerian newspapers.

FOR GOD'S SAKE, $150 MILLION! *desparately looking for a calculator to convert the amount into naira using 120 as the conversion rate to arrive at 18 Billion*

you should asking what happened to $16billion from OBJ

you should be asking Brown to return $1.1billion Abacha money in UK

$180million you will agree is peanut to above 2.

busi-bodi:

you should asking what happened to $16billion from OBJ

you should be asking Brown to return $1.1billion Abacha money in UK

$180million you will agree is peanut to above 2.

You are right here !!

the money na just bribe money , this one no be even embezzlement. This $150 million is just like the bribe u give to the police.

i AM very dis-current was up with d 150 milla dolapo saga, abeg make una brief me,

Is high time those is authority start telling us the citizen truth about how our heard earn money is being spent, anyone who is involve in this fraud should be brought to book, we are busy fighting corruption whereas those that are fighting corruption are the main men behind the all thing, what is bad is bad, there is no two way about it,

Let them disclose the names of the beneficiaries of the money and after that they should be executed in front of their families and the money recovered.

Is Nigeria a useless country? Dunno, just asking.

otokx:

Let them disclose the names of the beneficiaries of the money and after that they should be executed in front of their families and the money recovered.

last time I read, we dont have enough HANG-MAN in naija.

they will be much happier taking their share of the LOOT

though, i am against toruture, but let them torture him a little so that he can spew, they did d same in US too coz of the country's survival (which they tagged security), and i think "torture" in this sense wil be ok for our country's economic and political survival

God bless Nigeria

I think these thieves desrve more than torture