The United States Department of Justice has ordered the seizure of cash and assets belonging to former Delta State governor, James Ibori.
They are more than $3 million and a mansion in Houston, Texas, U.S.
The order was sequel application filed under seal on May 16 in U.S District Court in the District of Columbia, to register and enforce two orders from United Kingdom courts against more than $3 million in corruption proceeds related to Ibori.
The Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director, John Morton, disclosed this in a statement on the U.S Justice Department website on Tuesday.
“The application seeks to restrain assets and other proceeds of corruption belonging to Ibori and Bhadresh Gohil, Ibori’s former English solicitor.
“Specifically, it seeks to restrain a mansion in Houston and two Merrill Lynch brokerage accounts. U.S. District Judge Lamberth granted the application and issued a restraining order under seal on May 21.
“The department was notified today that its application to unseal the restraining order was granted.
“The United States is working with the United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police Service to forfeit these corruption proceeds,” the statement said.
According to the application, Ibori served as the governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta State from 1999 to 2007, and misappropriated millions of dollars in Delta State funds.
He laundered those proceeds through a myriad of companies, intermediaries and nominees in several jurisdictions, including the UK, with the help of Gohil.
Although Nigeria’s Constitution prohibits state governors from maintaining foreign bank accounts and serving as directors of private companies, Ibori and his associates accumulated millions of dollars in assets in the UK and U.S, according to the application.
Gohil was also convicted in November 2010 of money laundering and prejudicing a money laundering investigation and was sentenced by a British court to 10 years in prison.
“Instead of working to benefit the people of the Niger Delta, Ibori pilfered state funds and accumulated immense wealth in the process,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.
“He conspired with Mr. Gohil to funnel millions of dollars in corruption proceeds out of Nigeria and into bank accounts and assets maintained in the names of shell companies and nominees,” he added.