₦airaland Forum

QUOTE

He is not a full man who does not own a piece of land."

--Hebrew Proverb

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“To be successful in real estate, you must always and consistently put your clients' best interests first. When you do, your personal needs will be realized beyond your greatest expectations.”

--Anthony Hitt (President & CEO of Engel & Völkers Americas)

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has sealed Club Secret Underground in Osogbo, Osun State, where 94 people suspected to be internet fraudsters were arrested. The commission had announced the arrest of the suspects in an early morning raid on the club on Monday.

The EFCC, in a statement signed by Wilson Uwajuren, said the arrest was sequel to intelligence gathered by the commission regarding a party organised by some suspected internet fraudsters in the club.

During a visit to the club house located on Osogbo-Iwo Road on Wednesday, our correspondent observed red markings indicating that the premises had been sealed by the anti graft commission.

The gate to the club house was also under lock and there was no sign of activities on its premises.

SOURCE: https://punchng.com/suspected-fraudsters-efcc-closes-osun-nightclub/

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QUOTE

"Real estate is the best investment in the world because it is the only thing they're not making any more."
--Will Rogers (American actor, cowboy, humorist, newspaper columnist, and social commentator)

President Muhammadu Buhari has reduced the number and duration of foreign trips for ministers and other categories of government officials in a move described as ‘cost-saving measure’ to achieve fiscal prudence.

In a statement signed by the Director of Information at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, the President also removed travel allowances known as estacode; while he also cut down the number of persons permitted to travel with ministers and other government officials for official trip.

Buhari however approved the use of business class for ministers and economy class for lower categories of government officials. Approval for such trips must be sought through the office of the SGF or Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

The statement said, “In a bid to curb leakages and ensure efficiency in management of resources of government, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved for immediate implementation, additional cost saving measures aimed at instilling financial discipline and prudence, particularly, in the area of official travels. Henceforth, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies are required to submit their yearly travel plans for statutory meetings and engagements to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and/or the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation for express clearance within the first quarter of the fiscal year, before implementation.

“Also, when a minister is at the head of an official delegation, the size of such delegation shall not exceed four, including the relevant director, schedule officer and one aide of the minister. Every other delegation below ministerial level shall be restricted to a maximum of three.

“For class of air travels, the President has approved that ministers, permanent secretaries, special advisers, senior special assistants to the President, chairmen of extra-ministerial departments and chief executive officers of parastatals who are entitled, to continue to fly business class while other categories of public officers are to travel on economy class.

“Travel days will no longer attract payment of estacode allowances as duration of official trips shall be limited to only the number of days of the event as contained in the supporting documents to qualify for public funding.”

The statement added that only trips that would benefit the country must be embarked upon by the affected officials, noting also that ministers and other categories of government officials must not travel more than twice within a quarter of a year except with the permission of the President.

It noted, “On the nature and frequency of travels, all public funded travels (local and foreign), must be strictly for official purposes backed with documentary evidence. In this regard, all foreign travels must be for highly essential statutory engagements that are beneficial to the interest of the country.

“Except with the express approval of Mr. President, ministers, permanent secretaries, chairmen of extra-ministerial departments, chief executive officers and directors are restricted to not more than two foreign travels in a quarter. The Auditor-General of the Federation has been directed to treat all expenditures that contravene these guidelines as ineligible.”

SOURCE: https://punchng.com/buhari-reduces-ministers-foreign-trips-cuts-their-estacodes/

Still available...

BRAND NEW 4-BEDROOM TERRACE DUPLEX FOR SALE AT SANGOTEDO, LAGOS

PROPERTY LOCATION
It is within Pearl Nuga Park Estate along Monastery Road, Sangotedo. Just 8 minutes drive from Lagos Business School, and within walking distance of Novare Lekki Mall. The estate is already occupied and is being managed by a vibrant Residents/Owners Association. Neighbouring estates include Crown estate, Emperor estate and Diamond estate.

DESCRIPTION
The Terrace house consists of 3 bedrooms and a maid's room all ensuite, a sitting room with dining area, a kitchen and a store, a guest toilet and parking space for 2 cars. It has it's own borehole with 2 storage tanks.

PRICING
Price of the house is N28.5m (slightly negotiable).

CONTACT
Telephone: 08164502125.

Almost 500 years ago, a tall African man arrived in Japan. He would go on to become the first foreign-born man to achieve the status of a samurai warrior, and is the subject of two films being produced by Hollywood. Known as Yasuke, the man was a warrior who reached the rank of samurai under the rule of Oda Nobunaga - a powerful 16th Century Japanese feudal lord who was the first of the three unifiers of Japan.

In 1579, his arrival in Kyoto, the capital at the time, caused such a sensation that people climbed over one another to get a glimpse of him with some being crushed to death, according to historian Lawrence Winkler. Within a year, Yasuke had joined the upper echelons of Japan's warrior class, the samurai. Before long, he was speaking Japanese fluently and riding alongside Nobunaga in battle.

"His height was 6 shaku 2 sun (roughly 6 feet, 2 inches (1.88m)... he was black, and his skin was like charcoal," a fellow samurai, Matsudaira Ietada, described him in his diary in 1579.

The average height of a Japanese man in 1900 was 157.9m (5 feet 2 inches) so Yasuke would have towered over most Japanese people in the 16th Century, when people were generally shorter due to worse nutrition.

MAKING OF A WARRIOR
There are no records of Yasuke's date or country of birth. Most historians say he came from Mozambique but some have suggested other countries such as Ethiopia or Nigeria. What is known, however, is that Yasuke arrived in Japan with an Italian Jesuit named Alessandro Valignano on an inspection tour, and appears in recorded history only between 1579 and 1582.

Some experts say he was a slave, but it is hard to say. Floyd Webb and Deborah DeSnoo, filmmakers working on a documentary about him, believe assertions that he was a slave to be speculative at best. "It would have been impossible for Yasuke to rise to the rank of a samurai in just a year without a warrior background," Ms DeSnoo says. Samurais often began their training in childhood.

FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WARLORD
Yasuke met Nobunaga shortly after his arrival in Japan and piqued his interest, the filmmakers say, by being a talented conversationalist. Yasuke already spoke some Japanese and the two men got on well, according to academic Thomas Lockley, who has written a book on Yasuke.

According to Mr Lockley, Yasuke entertained Nobunaga with tales from Africa and India, where Mr Lockley believes Yasuke had spent some time before going to Japan.

Mr Webb believes that because of his command of the Japanese language, Yasuke would have been viewed favourably. "He was unlike the Jesuits, who had a religious agenda for the soul of Japan," Mr Webb says. There are reports that Nobunaga instructed his nephew to give Yasuke a sum of money at their very first meeting.

French-Ivorian writer Serge Bile was so intrigued by Yasuke's extraordinary rise that he wrote a book about the warrior. "It's part of the mystery surrounding this character. That's why he fascinates me," he told the BBC.

The African warrior and the Japanese warlord had a lot in common. Nobunaga was a great fan of the martial arts and spent a lot of time practising them. He was also an eccentric person, who according to Mr Webb, often dressed in Western-style clothes and sought the company of highly disciplined and intelligent people.

"[Yasuke] carried the warrior spirit," Mr Webb says. He understood the cultural language of Japan and loved to dance and perform Utenzi - a historic form of Swahili narrative poetry celebrating heroic deeds, Mr Webb adds. This suggests Yasuke could have come from Mozambique, as some historians believe, given that Swahili is still spoken in some northern parts of the country.

Similarly, Nobunaga was a lover of Noh Drama - a form of classical Japanese musical drama - and it is widely reported that he was a patron of the arts. Nobunaga grew fond of Yasuke and treated him like family - the African was among a very select group of people allowed to dine with him. "Nobunaga praised Yasuke's strength and stature, describing his might as that of 10 men," Ms DeSnoo says.

THE LEGEND LIVES ON
When Nobunaga bestowed the rank of samurai on Yasuke the idea of a non-Japanese samurai was something unheard of. Later, other foreigners would also obtain the title. As the first foreign-born samurai, Yasuke fought important battles alongside Oda Nobunaga.

He was also there on the fateful night one of Nobunaga's generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, turned against him and set the warlord's palace alight, trapping Nobunaga in one of the rooms. Nobunaga ended his own life by performing seppuku, a ritual suicide. Before he killed himself, he asked Yasuke to decapitate him and take his head and sword to his son, according to historian Thomas Lockley. It was a sign of great trust.

The legend of Yasuke comes to an end shortly after this, in 1582. The fall of Nobunaga at the hands of a treacherous general resulted in the exile of the first black samurai, possibly back to a Jesuit mission in Kyoto. Though his fate and the last years of his life remain unknown, Yasuke has lived on in the imaginations of many Japanese who grew up with the award-winning children's book Kuro-suke (kuro meaning "black" in Japanese) by Kurusu Yoshio.

The book, which dramatises Yasuke's life, ends with a bittersweet note: after Nobunaga kills himself, Kuro-suke (Yasuke) is taken to a temple where he dreams of his parents in Africa and weeps.

Entertainment industry newspaper Variety reported in May that Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman is set to play Yasuke in a forthcoming feature film. It will be the second Hollywood film being developed on the life of Yasuke. In 2017, Hollywood studio Lionsgate announced it was developing a film on the life of the black samurai.

Nearly 500 years later, his unusual life continues to awe and inspire people.

SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48542673

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-- Robert G. Allen (US Businessman and House of Reps member)

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“Landlords grow rich in their sleep without working, risking or economising.”
--John Stuart Mill, English philosopher and economist

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sakanifemi123:
Give me your contact, So that I can contact you when I get the buyer

08164502125.

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You can be born into it, you can earn it, and you can lose it. Increasingly, you can also invest your way into it. The "it" is citizenship of a particular country, and it is a more fluid concept than ever before. Go back 50 years, and it was uncommon for countries to allow dual citizenship, but it is now almost universal.

More than half of the world's nations now have citizenship-through-investment programmes. According to one expert, Swiss lawyer Christian Kalin, it is now a global industry worth $25bn (£20bn) a year. Mr Kalin, who has been dubbed "Mr Passport", is the chairman of Henley & Partners, one of the world's biggest players in this rapidly growing market. His global business helps wealthy individuals and their families acquire residency or citizenship in other countries.

He says that our traditional notions of citizenship are "outdated". "This is one of the few things left in the world that is tied to blood lines, or where you are born," he says. He argues that a rethink is very much due.

"It's super unfair," he says, explaining that where we are born is by no means down to our own skill or talent, but instead "pure luck". "What is wrong with regarding citizenship like a membership," he adds. "And what is wrong with admitting talented people who will contribute?" There are those who support his argument. But for many, the idea that passports, so tied to identity, are in some way a commodity, doesn't sit well.

We followed the citizenship trail to the tiny Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Since the country introduced its new citizenship scheme four years ago, it's seen an explosion of interest. Passports now provide the biggest source of its government's revenues. For many aspiring Vanuatu passport holders, the biggest draw is visa-free travel throughout Europe.

Most foreign recipients of Vanuatu passports never even step foot in the country. Instead they apply for their citizenship in offices overseas, like the licensed Vanuatu citizenship broker PRG Consulting, based in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is one of the world's biggest citizenship marketplaces. In a cafe at Hong Kong airport, we met the citizenship agent MJ, a private businessman who helps an increasing number of mainland Chinese obtain a second or even third passport.

"They don't feel safe [in China]," he says of his clients. "They want access to Europe to open a bank account, to buy property or to start businesses."

Citizenship is a competitive global market, and for many small and island nations, notably in the Caribbean - the price for a passport is around $150,000. The cost of a Vanuatu passport is said to be around the same level.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BUY A PASSPORT?

1. Antigua and Barbuda; from $100,000
2. St Kitt's and Nevis; from $150,000
3. Montenegro; from $274,000
4. Portugal; from $384,000
5. Spain; from $550,000
6. Bulgaria; from $560,000
7. Malta; from $1m
8. US; from $900,000 invested in a business creating 10 jobs
9. UK; from $2.5m

A Vanuatu passport, MJ explains, is "so fast" to arrange (you can get one in just 30 days), and that helps make it a popular choice. But Mr Kalin and others caution that Vanuatu has a reputation for corruption. As a result, Henley & Partners and others do not deal with the Vanuatu citizenship programme. However, this doesn't stop the interest from China. A few years ago Hong Kong television channels aired catchy TV advertisements promoting Vanuatu citizenship, aimed at the territory's steady flow of visitors from the mainland.

So how many Chinese clients actually visit Vanuatu, after receiving citizenship? Maybe one in 10, guesses MJ. Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu, and a city of contrasts. The roads are often flooded and scarred with potholes. There's not a single set of traffic lights, but congestion is worsening thanks to the growing number of shiny four-wheel drives. It's a tax haven, and recently rejoined the EU's "blacklist" of countries, over transparency and corruption issues.

The country's people - known as Ni Vanuatu - were only officially recognised as citizens themselves in 1980, when the country achieved independence. Previously it was an Anglo-French condominium called the New Hebrides, and the people are scattered over a daisy chain of more than 80 islands. Less than 40 years ago, they were stateless. A fact not lost on former Prime Minister Barak Sope.

"I didn't have a passport until 1980," he says, sitting in a hotel and casino on Port Vila's main road. "I had to travel with a piece of paper the British and the French gave to me. It was humiliating." Mr Sope says it is a "betrayal" for Vanuatu to sell its citizenship, and points to the flood of Chinese investment in the region. "The Chinese have so much more money than us," he says exasperated. The Chinese investment is criticised by locals such as Mr Sope, who complain that the Chinese companies keep all the money, and only employ Chinese labour.

Vanuatu's all male government, one of only three countries in the world where women are entirely excluded from politics, was not keen to speak to us about its citizenship scheme. But we tracked down a government appointed citizenship agent, Bill Bani, who explains his take on the initiative. "We have to look at Vanuatu on a global scale," he says. "Other countries sell passports to make their living, we don't have a lot of natural resources. It's bringing in a lot of money to Vanuatu." But for the mainly rural population the policy has been highly controversial since its inception in 2015.

Anne Pakoa, a community leader, shows us around a typical village made up of corrugated iron shacks. It's just 10 minutes' drive down a dirt road from the shops and restaurants of the capital but feels a world away. Anne says that local communities aren't seeing the money from the passport sales, despite promises that the scheme would rebuild infrastructure and homes after the devastating Cyclone Pam in 2015.
Image caption Anne Pakoa says that the country's rural villages haven't seen any of the money

"Our ancestors died for our freedom. Now people are carrying the same green passport I carry? For $150,000? Where is the money? I think this has to stop," she says.

Susan, another woman from the same village, shows us a dirty well. "I want the government to provide a running tap, so that the children can have a shower, and drink clean and safe water," she says.

With demand from the Chinese market booming, Dan McGarry, who runs the local newspaper, says it will be hard to imagine a change in policy anytime soon. Passport sales now account for more than 30% of the country's revenue, according to Dan. "For a tiny country like ours this is a big deal. But we have to ask ourselves, is this what we fought for? Is this right? Is it right to sell our hard won sovereignty to the highest bidder?"

It's a question that many countries, not just Vanuatu, will have to grapple with in an increasingly globalised world. But as Mr Kalin, from Henley & Partners, says: "Citizenship through investment, and investment migration programmes, are nothing but a reflection of a world where everything has become more fluid."

Two radio documentaries that accompany this story are available on the BBC World Service - "How To Buy Your Own Country" and "Passport To Paradise".

SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49958628

QUOTE
“Buying real estate is not only the best way, the quickest way, the safest way, but the only way to become wealthy.”

Marshall Field

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QUOTE
“90% of all millionaires become so through owning real estate. More money has been made in real estate than in all industrial investments combined. The wise young man or wage earner of today invests his money in real estate.”

Andrew Carnegie – Scottish businessman and philanthropist

sakanifemi123:
If I bring you buyer what will you give me as a commission

If your prospect closes the deal, we will share my 5% commission i.e. you get 2.5% and I get 2.5%. As you are also the Buyer's Agent, that gives you a tidy 7.5%.

I'm making this concession because you would have effectively done all the work of getting the buyer.

Some Lagos residents, who want to re-register their vehicles, have lamented how officials of the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency under the state Ministry of Transportation frustrate and extort them. They said aside from paying N46,000 for change of ownership documents and number plates, they were being made to part with extra cash for ‘processing’.

According to them, the officials charged each applicant between N10,000 and N12,000 extra, money that is not receipted. Our correspondents were told that months after some motorists had paid the N46,000, they had yet to get their documents and number plates.

An engineer, Mr Edet Okon, said he paid N46,000 to change the ownership of a registered Honda Crosstour he bought, adding that three months after, he had yet to get the documents and the number plate. He explained, “The car I am using was registered in the name of my company, because I took a loan to acquire it. When I completed payment for the car, the company transferred it to me and I applied for the change of ownership documents.

“I paid N46,000 to the licensing office since July. I don’t know what is keeping them from processing the application for change of ownership. I have yet to be assigned a new number plate. The official in charge wants me to bribe him and I am not going to do that. It is wrong for people to expect that they must be tipped to do their job.”

Another resident, Opeyemi Oyejide, said he could not understand the government’s inability to give him a number plate despite the fact that he had paid the required fee. Oyejide, 40, advised the agency to issue temporary clearance permits to vehicle owners, who had commenced the re-registration process, to prevent security agents from harassing them.

He said, “For me not to have completed the change of ownership means that governance is at low ebb in this state. It simply implies that the government cannot perform the basic task it was set up for. I got the number plate for my first car in three days in this same Lagos, but everything has changed now. But if you are willing to offer a bribe, you will get the number plate in record time. I know somebody who paid over the odds for re-registration and his number plate has been delivered, but because people like us refused to part with extra money, we have not got what we paid for.”

Another motorist, Adekunle Bello, said the charges for vehicle re-registration were exorbitant, alleging that government agents and their cohorts had created artificial scarcity of number plates to extort money from applicants.

A resident, Goriola Adegoke, who paid extra N10,000 to a government employee, said he got his documents and number plate under two weeks. “That is not the standard procedure, because the money certainly goes into their pockets. I have yet to even get the receipt for the N46,000 I paid before adding the N10,000. The extra money facilitated the choice of the local government that reflected on the number plate. This is nothing but fraud,” he stated.

During a visit to the MVAA at Alausa, PUNCH Metro learnt from some officials that processing of number plates ideally should take 48 hours. But an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the licensing office at the state secretariat had stopped issuing number plates for re-registered vehicles.

He explained, “Before now, the government issued number plates to new vehicles and old vehicles brought for re-registration. But recently, it stopped issuing new number plates for old vehicles. So, we decided to apply for new number plates for people re-registering vehicles.

“The process of doing this is long. That is why we collect an extra fee of N12,000. I charge a total of N60,000 to re-register a vehicle. Those, who paid N48,000 cannot get new number plates except they add N12,000.”

Another official in the Alimosho area of the state said he charges N55,000 for re-registration of a sport utility vehicle. Asked why the fee was high, he said the government had stopped what he termed the ‘re-reg’ scheme for old vehicles. The agent stated, “They used to charge N20,000 for re-reg that time, but they have stopped. So, for us to get number plates for those doing re-registration, we adopt the process of new vehicle registration, which costs N30,000. For change of ownership, you need a total of N55,000, in addition to 2 passport photos, means of identification, particulars of the vehicle and change of ownership and purchase receipts. Within 2 weeks, everything will be ready.”

But the General Manager, MVAA, Mrs Lape Kilanko, said the official lied. According to Kilanko, the state government is still running the re-reg scheme, which costs N12,500 as against the N20,000 stated by the official. She noted that the total amount for re-registration of a vehicle was N26,325, and not N55,000 or N60,000 as stated by the government worker.

The MVAA boss insisted that there was no scarcity of number plates in the state, adding that standard registration number plates did not also come at additional costs. For clarity, PUNCH Metro gave an example of a Honda Crosstour for re-registration and demanded its cost implications.

She said, “The change of ownership process will require a letter of authorisation to transfer ownership, a police report for the change of ownership, sworn affidavit for the change of ownership, Central Motor Registry payment, valid means of identification of the new owner and an updated vehicle licence.”

According to her, the change of ownership fee is N2,500; Capital Gains Tax, N625; number plate, N12,500; pre-registration inspection fee (by the Vehicle Inspection Service Directorate), N3,800; Central Motor Registry, N1,000; administrative charges, N2,000; and vehicle licence, N3,900. She said the total cost was N26,325. The general manager noted that it would take 20 to 30 minutes for the registration of new vehicles and 48 hours for the completion of the change of ownership.

Investigation by PUNCH Metro revealed that a long chain of corruption involving officials of the agency was responsible for the differences in the rates charged.

“At every stage of the process, officials of the MVAA hike the official rates to line their own pockets,” a source said.

A client representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said unless the government made vehicle registration and re-registration a one-stop process, the fraud would continue.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr Olawale Musa, said the government would look into the issues.

SOURCE: https://punchng.com/lagos-officials-frustrate-vehicle-registration-milk-applicants/

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QUOTE
"The right to private property meant at the same time the right and duty to be personally concerned about your own well-being, to be personally concerned about your family’s income, to be personally concerned about your future. This is hard work.”

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

QUOTE

“Real estate is an imperishable asset, ever increasing in value. It is the most solid security that human ingenuity has devised. It is the basis of all security and about the only indestructible security.”

Russell Sage, American Financier and Politician

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CONTACT
Telephone: 08164502125.
Email: improve360consult@gmail.com

Real Estate Quote...

BRAND NEW 4-BEDROOM TERRACE DUPLEX FOR SALE AT SANGOTEDO, LAGOS

PROPERTY LOCATION
It is within Pearl Nuga Park Estate along Monastery Road, Sangotedo. Just 8 minutes drive from Lagos Business School, and within walking distance of Novare Lekki Mall. The estate is already occupied and is being managed by a vibrant Residents/Owners Association. Neighbouring estates include Crown estate, Emperor estate and Diamond estate.

DESCRIPTION
The Terrace house consists of 3 bedrooms and a maid's room all ensuite, a sitting room with dining area, a kitchen and a store, a guest toilet and parking space for 2 cars. It has it's own borehole with 2 storage tanks.

PRICING
Price of the house is N28.5m (slightly negotiable).

CONTACT
Telephone: 08164502125.
Email: improve360consult@gmail.com

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: AFRICAN KLEPTOCRACTS ARE FINDING IT TOUGHER TO STASH CASH IN THE WEST

The days of brazen looting and laundering have passed. Light-fingered tyrants are looking back wistfully. In past decades they could stash their illicit wealth in the West. Friendly lawyers, banks and middlemen were on hand to park the loot. Sani Abacha, the military dictator who ran Nigeria in the 1990s, deposited billions of dollars in banks across the rich world, no questions asked.

Western governments often seemed equally unbothered. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, a former president of France, attended soirées in chateaux owned by the late Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa of Central Africa. Mr Bokassa would slip his guest diamonds to thank him for France’s support. Such brazenness is becoming a bit harder to get away with. Anti-corruption campaigners and muckraking journalists have busied themselves trying to uncover stolen assets. Western governments, tired of seeing aid money stolen, have toughened up money-laundering and bribery laws.

On September 29th 2019, Swiss authorities auctioned a fleet of sports cars seized from Teodorin Obiang, son and heir apparent to the president of Equatorial Guinea. The $27m raised is to be returned to Mr Obiang’s benighted people. Days earlier San Marino confiscated €19m ($21m) from accounts linked to Denis Sassou Nguesso, the president of Congo-Brazzaville.

Yet so much has been pilfered from Africa that tracking it all is tricky. Chatham House, a British think-tank, estimates that $582bn has been stolen from Nigeria alone since it won independence in 1960. Britain’s International Corruption Unit says its investigations have led to the confiscation of £76m ($117m) in laundered loot since 2006. Another £791m has been frozen worldwide thanks to its work. Yet that barely makes a dent in the £100bn of illicit funds which Steve Goodrich at Transparency International, a watchdog, reckons enters Britain every year. “Seizures are still the exception,” says Jason Sharman, an expert in international corruption at Cambridge University. “Dirty money still gets through most of the time.”

The best way to hide and move stolen wealth is to set up a raft of anonymous shell companies and bank accounts. Questionable payments linked to Mr Sassou Nguesso’s son passed through Cyprus, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, Global Witness, another watchdog, reported in August. The EU is trying to make this sort of thing harder by forcing member states to publish registers disclosing the beneficial owners of companies.

Britain has introduced another innovation. Unexplained Wealth Orders allow courts to order “politically exposed persons” to explain why their assets are so much larger than their salaries back home. The first was issued last year. Yet tough laws do not work unless everyone imposes them. “If there is a gap, then the money-launderers will find it,” says Max Heywood, Transparency International’s global advocacy co-ordinator.

Willing and effective implementation is vital. Some surprising places, such as Switzerland and Jersey, have grown more robust in this regard. But America leads the way. The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative at the US Department of Justice has seized stolen loot not just in America, but abroad. “The US is aggressive in enforcement,” says Matthew Axelrod, a former DoJ official now at Linklaters, a law firm. “Penalties are very high and prosecutors are insulated from political interference.”

Europe lags behind. Its law-enforcement agencies are often under-resourced. Investigators struggle when dirty money is held in several countries. Britain has spearheaded the International Anti-corruption Co-ordination Centre, created in 2017. Its head, Rupert Broad, says pooling intelligence has led to the arrest of five senior officials in four African states.

The most important thing, campaigners say, is to take steps to stop dirty money arriving in the first place. Banks are becoming better at reporting dodgy deposits. Purveyors of luxury goods are less alert. Boat dealers in the Netherlands are supposed to flag suspicious purchases. But of 40,959 suspicious-activity reports to Dutch authorities in 2015, just three came from yacht-dealers, Transparency found.

African states also complain that little of what is recovered is ever sent back. America, Britain and Switzerland have had some success. More than $1bn seized from Mr Abacha’s bank accounts has been returned. But many African states have not helped their cause, often because thieving politicians are still in charge. When Switzerland returned $500m of Mr Abacha’s money, most of it disappeared again. The World Bank has programmes to guard against such things, but some Western states remain wary, and rightly so.

James Ibori, a former governor of Nigeria’s Delta State, served a prison sentence in Britain after admitting to plundering $79m from the public purse. His lawyers have managed to frustrate efforts to repatriate most of the funds frozen in his British bank accounts. Displaying a cheerful shamelessness, Mr Ibori is again active in Nigerian politics. In August Ifeanyi Okowa, the state’s present governor, called Mr Ibori “a true patriot” and praised him for his “uncompromising posture on...good governance”. There are surely better ways of showing that Africa is doing its bit than heaping plaudits on a felon.

This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of The Economist print edition under the headline "African kleptocrats are finding it tougher to stash cash in the West"

SOURCE: https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/10/10/african-kleptocrats-are-finding-it-tougher-to-stash-cash-in-the-west

REAL ESTATE QUOTE
“If you don’t own a home, buy one. If you own a home, buy another one. If you own two homes, buy a third. And, lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”

John Paulson, investor and multi-billionaire