2011: US investigations threaten Atiku’s chances
Written by Taiwo Adisa and Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare
Monday, 29 November 2010

ALLEGATIONS linking former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to money laundering and unwholesome financial practices that could be the albatross that would deny the former number two man the ambition of becoming Nigeria’s president in 2011 have been revealed by Lagos-based The NEWS magazine.

The magazine, in its current edition which hit the market on Sunday, quoted the details of the report of the US Committee on Homeland Security which indicted Abubakar as being responsible for the laundering of over $40 million (about N6 billion) into the United States illegally.

The magazine indicated that the investigations carried out on Abubakar and other African leaders by the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security in a report entitled “Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States” could serve as a hinderance to Abubakar’s ambition in 2011.

According to the magazine in the edition with the headline: “Atiku’s Chances: His problems with America,” dated December 6, 2010, the former vice-president was listed among the four case studies of persons who allegedly laundered “illicit” funds to the US.

The report which Executive Summary was initially made public after a public hearing by the US Senate Committee headed by Senator Carl Levin on February 4, 2010, listed Abubakar among the four persons tagged ‘Politically Exposed Persons’(PEP), who were used as case studies.

Others in the PEP category, including Atiku, are Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mange, sonof the president of Equitorial Guinea; president of Gabon, Omar Bongo and three PEPs from Angola.

The PEPs, according to the report, used US-based lawyers, lobbyists, escrow agents, real estate, bankers, as well as university workers to circumvent the US anti-corruption safe guards and launder funds into the country.

This act, the reprt claimed, had a corrosive effect on its rule of law, economic development and democratic principles.

On his part, Alhaji Abubakar was alleged to have, through his fourth wife, Ms Jennifer Douglas, a citizen of the US, moved $40 million  in suspect funds to the United States between 2000 and 2008 through wire transfers sent by off shore corporations to US bank accounts.

In addition, the US Securities and Exchange Commission had received civil complaints in 2008, alleging that Douglas  received “over $2.8 million in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002 from Siemens AG, a German firm, to bribe Nigerian officials.”

According to the report, another $2.1 million was transferred by wire through Edward Weirdenfeld, a US lawyer, who represented Douglas, Abubakar and the American University of Nigeria owned by the former vice-president.

Though, the lawyer claimed that the transaction was for the Abubakar family legal expenses for setting up the university and he assumed that the funds came from the former vice-president.

The list of money laundering allegations against the presidential aspirant included funds allegedly laundered through some American banks, including Citibank, Eagle bank, Chevy Chase, Suntrust Bank, and Wachovia Bank.

At Citibank in Maryland, Jennifer Atiku was alleged to have opened 18 different accounts, which included personal checking accounts, a home equity account, three accounts in the name of her organi-sation, Gede Foundation and two extra personal checking accounts that were later expanded for the AUN and Jennifer herself.

These accounts were said to be used to bring in $20 million suspect funds through the bank into the US.

In addition, she was said to have maintained three Citibank credit card accounts, three for herself and Abubakar and one for Gede Foundation.

The report alleged that Jennifer lived like a king, paying credit card bills and household expenses in the range of $10, 000 to $90,000 monthly, including hefty legal and financial fees.

The magazine further reported that when she was questioned, she claimed the wires she received were from her husband and were proceeds from his personal business in Nigeria, adding that she received income from Gede, in addition to an agreed yearly bonus of $50,000.

When allegations of a US inquiry on his person was recently published by the Saturday Tribune, his media manager, Mallam Garba Shehu, said such allegations were aimed at stopping the presidential ambition of Atiku.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/14037-2011-us-investigations-threaten-atikus-chances

By SaharaReporters, New York
A United States Senate report has accused Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice-President, of laundering over $40 million in suspicious funds into the United States between 2000 and 2008. And his partner in the lucrative effort was Jennifer Douglas, his fourth wife.  Ms. Douglas is sometimes known as Lady Jamilah Jennifer, or Douglas E, or Jennifer Iwenjora, the name by which she was known in the 1980s when she was a reporter with the Nigeria Television Authority in Lagos.

According to the report, which was written by the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations, most of the funds were through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts.

Of the $40 million identified in the US investigation, $25 million was reportedly wire-transferred by offshore corporations into more than 30 U.S. bank accounts opened by Ms. Douglas, primarily by Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd., LetsGo Ltd. Inc., and Sima Holding Ltd.

“In a 2008 civil complaint, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms. Douglas received over $2 million in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002, from Siemens AG, a major German corporation,” the report says.  “While Ms. Douglas denies wrongdoing, Siemens has already pled (pleaded) guilty to U.S. criminal charges and settled civil charges related to bribery and told the Subcommittee that it sent the payments to one of her U.S. accounts.

  The report also recalls the 2006/2007 corruption brouhaha in Nigeria between Abubakar and then President Olusegun Obasanjo over the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.  At that time, both a government panel and an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission panel found Atiku guilty of diverting funds meant for the Fund's operations nationwide to various banks to promote his private interests.  Obasanjo dismissed his own extensive gains from the account as pointed out by Abubakar as mere "gifts" over which he had no control.

The report goes on: “The U.S. banks maintaining those accounts were, at times, unaware of her PEP (Politically Exposed Person) status, and they allowed multiple, large offshore wire transfers into her accounts. As each bank began to question the offshore wire transfers, Ms. Douglas indicated that all of the funds came from her husband and professed little familiarity with the offshore corporations actually sending her money. When one bank closed her account due to the offshore wire transfers, her lawyer helped convince other banks to provide a new account.

”In addition, two of the offshore corporations wire transferred about $14 million over five years to American University in Washington, D.C., to pay for consulting services related to the development of a Nigerian university founded by Mr. Abubakar. American University accepted the wire transfers without asking about the identity of the offshore corporations or the source of their funds, because under current law, the University had no legal obligation to inquire.”
The Full On Jennifer Atiku's Money Laundering By The US Permanent Committee on Investigations here
http://www.saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/uploads/JEAtiku.pdf

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/us-atiku-abubakar-40-million-money-laundering-accusation-wife-jennifer

What if he becomes substantive president? Nigerian monies will definitely be put in a conduit pipe. Yeye man!

^^^
Yoruba reporting for duty.
If OBJ could put the Nigerian 'monies' down the conduit pipe for 10 years and you found nothing wrong about it and to your benefit, let Atiku try his luck. We are sick of you and your OBJ gang of unproductive-looting touts/geriatric delinquents.

Can you please forward this to the EFCC(Adamawa Branch) as soon as possible for the desired effect?
Instead of disturbing us on NL.
What do you want us to do with this useless piece of info?
Do we have EFCC operatives on NL?

A United States Senate report has [size=16pt]accused[/size] Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice-President, of laundering over $40 million in suspicious funds into the United States between 2000 and 2008.

If this is the best you OBJ supporters can do, I think you are very mentally-challenged if not deranged.
We need an indictment, so stop wasting your bandwidth or that of the cyber cafe you are posting from.

we all know diss, its stale newss, NEXT??

They only fight corruption on the eve election.

We seen it all before.

It looks like the new strategy is to plant ridiculous claims about international investigation on persons running against Jonathan.

Why can't Jonathan Goodluck be a man and tell us his programs or defend his records than calling everyone else corrupt when the records show that even he Jonathan has been looting this Nation.

stale

And this is a man who wants to be our president, TUFIAKWA!!

Sahara reporters of fake news

Honestly, I'm starting to hope Atiku wins the PDP primary, forcing GEJ to the ACN.

DapoBear:

Honestly, I'm starting to hope Atiku wins the PDP primary, forcing GEJ to the ACN.

There he will lose scandalously. The Yoruba votes will get him no where.

I know he's more smarter than that and will simply step down in the presidential race.

The ACN is not in resonance with his father figure OBJ. It would be the most shameful loss to an incumbent.

excanny:

There he will lose scandalously. The Yoruba votes will get him no where.

I know he's more smarter than that and will simply step down in the presidential race.

The ACN is not in resonance with his father figure OBJ. It would be the most shameful loss to an incumbent.

Bongo e!
Awaaaaas!
Ogundipe!

My eye ooooo.

Blazay:


Bongo e!
Awaaaaas!
Ogundipe!

My eye ooooo.

Excanny must be a Yoruba p[b]o[/b]rson, right?

atiku was the vice president and pdp chieftain for over 8 yrs only for us to know that he was a criminal when he wanted to be president in 2007. his criminalities expired immediately after that election that fraudulently brough jonathan and his late boss to power.
elections are arround the corner again and atiku has become a criminal.
nigerians can do better than this. we have jails built here and there for criminals. how come our govt cannot send known criminals to the jail? it is obvious we have a weak govt or a govt that enjoys decieving the ppl.
obasanjo is so much afraid of atiku and it is important nigerians expose this fears.

Spearman = BEAF

Boboribo:

Spearman = BEAF

it is must be beef

Jail the b[i]a[/i]stard!