The United Kingdom’s lead agency against organized crime, National Crime Agency, has recovered $23,439,724.98 loot siphoned out of Nigeria in the 1990s by the late former military Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
In a statement posted on its website, the agency said the funds form part of a larger pool of monies identified by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) as having been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates.
They said the fund’s recovery followed nearly seven years of protracted litigation and international negotiation to enforce the US forfeiture order relating to the recovered monies.
NCA’s Asset Denial Senior Manager, Billy Beattie, was quoted saying: “The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime, and the civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fight.
“We work closely with the UK and international partners to tackle the threat posed by corruption, which disproportionately impacts the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
“We are committed to ensuring that those who perpetrate corruption do not benefit from their actions.”
“The funds have now been transferred to the Home Office for onward transmission to the USDOJ,” NCA said.
