Money laundering is a
global phenomenon that is not restricted to Nigeria. It is more prevalent where there is systemic failure, bad governance and poor value orientation.
This accounts for the reason President Muhammadu Buhari and 59 other world leaders agreed to sign a pact on the sanctions to be imposed on corrupt political and public office holders.
The agreement which is expected to be signed in United Kingdom will among other things, check the high rate of looting and money laundering around the world 60 countries are involved in the deal.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), who spoke to journalists about the agreement, said some of the sanctions include travel restriction or denial of entry visa into the 60 countries, rejection of request for political asylum by corrupt political and public office holders, likely loss of citizenship while culprit will not be allowed to operate foreign accounts in any of the 60 nations.
The justice minister said the agreement would make it difficult for those stealing public funds in the country to escape abroad or operate slush accounts.
“The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping up the fight against corruption. I am happy to bring to your notice that Nigeria and 59 other countries will enter into an agreement in May on the imposition of international sanctions against corrupt political and public office holders. This will take place at the 2016 international summit on anti-corruption in the UK. At the May summit, these 60 countries will agree on some sanctions against those who steal public funds or launder money”, Malami said.
According to him, “the affected countries will also design ways of sharing intelligence on corrupt officers and money launderers. We will all key into this understanding as part of the global action against corruption. With this development, there is no hiding place for any public office holder who steals funds in this country.
Malami also noted that Nigeria is being considered as the 2017 host of the international summit on anti-corruption.
As a measure to put an end to this hydra-headed menace called money laundering in the country, the Nigeria police sometimes ago indicted a former governor of Kwara State (name withheld) and some of his associates for money laundering and consequently recommended their prosecution.
In a report of its Special Fraud Unit (SFU) investigation into a petition dated September 11, 2011, addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Joy Petroleum Limited alleged illegal withdrawal from its accounts by the then Intercontinental Bank Plc. The police found that the former governor and another person conspired to breach the money laundering Act.
In an interview with The Tide, a printer, Mr George Griffin, said that as Nigeria intensifies efforts at recovering all monies looted in the past, the government should not lose sight of the fact that there are some others in the present government who had been in one way or another involved in money laundering, , adding that no one should be spared or seen as a sacred cow in the money recovery exercise.”
According to him, it is regrettable that in spite of the various legislations against corruption in the country, it still persists as the legislations seen not to be helping the issues. There is the need now to review the existing corruption laws in the country to ensure greater operation, efficiency and deterrence.”
Griffin called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, (ICPC) to change the public perception that they are only engaged in prosecuting corrupt government officials because of the sentiments attached to it.
May Nigerians have commended the new anti-corruption drive by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, but called on the Federal Government to make judicious use of the recovered monies for the development of the country.
“There is infrastructural decay in the country, yearning for prompt attention, just as the citizens are wallowing in abject poverty and hunger. Nigerians are expecting better living condition from the out-come of the fight against corruption,: a civil servant Mrs Judith Amachree said.
Another source said, “we have refineries that need to be made function and produce petroleum products at higher capacities and we have the industrial sector that is crying for revival. If the Federal Government can use the recovered loots to take care of these areas there will be employment for the teeming jobless youths, and issue of restiveness will be over”.
It would be recalled that as part of the drive to recover the monies looted by Nigerians in the past, the United States (U.S.) has agreed to repatriate $480 million believed to have been stolen by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha and his family to Nigeria.
A source who did not want his name in print, told our correspondent that the Abacha family’s loot is the largest ever traced to a former Nigerian public officer in the United States, pointing out that the conditions for the repatriation of the cash and other details are being worked out.
It was also learnt that the Department of Justice in the US now has a kleptocracy unit, which will assist track looted funds and money laundered by public officials from Nigeria and other countries. The planned repatriation, according to the source, was the outcome of a recent meeting between US Department of Justice and Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu.
A highlight of the loot as published shows that the Abacha family and its associates are to forfeit over $550 million and #95,910 in 10 accounts and six investment portfolios linked to them in France, Britain, British virgin Islands and the United States.
So far, cash recovered from the Abacha loot are $226.3 from Liechtenstein, 7.5m euros from an associated company in Liechtenstein in 2011, #22.5m from Island of Jersey while $480m is expected to be repatriated from the United States.
Recently, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said it had received several documents from the World Bank totaling over 700 pages on information on the spending of recovered assets stolen by the late General Abacha, with some of the documents suggesting that Abacha loot was spent by the previous administrations on roads, electricity, education, health and water.
But a letter from Mr Rachid Benmessaoud of the SERAP revealed certain facts which raised more questions about what happened to Abacha loot.
Firstly, that Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Minister of Finance in a letter dated January 9,2005 explained to the World Bank that around $500 million of Abacha loot received from Switzerland was programmed into and spent in the 2004 and 2005 budgets on roads, etc, across all the 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria. Its breakdown showed that #18.60m was spent on roads, #10.83bn on health, #7bn on education, #6.20bn on water and #21.70bn on electricity. This shows that all the federal ministries had full details on the spending of repatriated Abacha loot.
But the big question is, if truly these recover monies were spent on these areas mention by the former minister of fiancé, why is Nigeria still suffering poverty are infrastructural decay?

Shedie Okpara