James Ibori may not return a dime of the money he stole as governor
According to new reports, former Delta State governor James Ibori may
not return a dime of the money he stole as governor for eight years.
Find the report from UK Daily Mail:
A former Wickes cashier who became a Nigerian state governor and
defrauded £157m of public funds to live a lavish lifestyle may not have
to pay a single penny back.
James Ibori, 51, is said to have personally pocketed £50million of cash
stolen from the west African nation’s oil-rich Delta State during his
eight-year tenure.
The former £5,000-a-year Wickes cashier blew millions on luxury homes, a
£12.6million private jet, fees at some of the UK’s most expensive
boarding schools for his children, first-class travel and exclusive
hotels. Continue…
He owned a £600,000 fleet of armoured Range Rovers, a £120,000
Bentley and a £340,000 Mercedes Maybach that was shipped direct to his
£3.2million mansion in Johannesburg.
Described as one of Nigeria’s most influential and wealthy
politicians, Ibori rigged lucrative state contracts with the help of his
wife, mistress, sister, and an inner circle of corrupt officials and
lifted money straight out of state funds.
He also sold £23million of state-owned shares in telecoms company Vee
Mobile to fund a lavish lifestyle, including £125,000 monthly credit
card bills while his people languished in poverty.
Ibori, who now lives in Hampstead, north west London, was sentenced
to 13 years behind bars in April 2012 after admitting a raft of fraud
and money laundering offences.
He is due to face a confiscation hearing at Southwark Crown Court but
it was claimed today that he did not make a single penny from the
£157million fraud.
Applying to have confiscation proceedings thrown out, Ivan Krolick,
defending, said Ibori’s pleas of guilt were not an admission that he
personally profited from the scam.
The court heard if the full confiscation hearing does go ahead under
the Proceeds of Crime Act, the fraudster may only be ordered to pay back
£330,000.
Prosecutor Sasha Wass QC said: ‘The handling of the money itself gave
rise to the crime so the benefit of the crime in the context of this
case would be the same thing.
‘It gives rise to the proceeds of crime.
‘The Crown has been taken wholly by surprise that Mr Krolick should
address the court and say that there was no evidence in effect that Mr
Ibori benefited’.
Nigerian-born Ibori moved to the UK in the 1980s where he married his
wife, Theresa, and worked as a cashier at Wickes in Ruislip, Middlesex.
 |
| Ibori owned a £120,000 Bentley, a £340,000 Mercedes Maybach that was shipped direct to his £3.2million mansion in Johannesburg and a range of homes including one in Dorset, pictured |
In 1990 the pair were convicted of stealing goods from the store and
fined £300. A year later Ibori was fined £100 for handling a stolen
credit card before he moved back to his homeland.
Ibori was elected as governor of Delta State in 1999 after tricking
his way into power by hiding details of his previous convictions in the
UK for theft and changing his age.
In 2003, he was re-elected as governor for another four year term, after
failing to disclose his previous convictions and financial status.
 |
| Ibori, described as one of Nigeria’s most influential and wealthy politicians, bought a £120,000 Bentley, pictured, a £340,000 Mercedes Maybach and a £600,000 fleet of armoured Range Rovers |
During that time he systematically stole funds from the public purse, secreting them in bank accounts across the world.
His methods included the inflation of State contracts, kickbacks and
the transfer of cash from the State accounts by unscrupulous employees
in his inner circle.
In one instance he rigged the tendering process for state contracts in
cahoots with his mistress Udoumaka Okoronkwo, who would be due to face
confiscation proceedings alongside Ibori.
 |
| Ibori, 51, who now lives in Hampstead, north west London, pictured, was previously convicted of stealing goods from hope improvement store Wickes and handling a stolen credit card |
The couple used Okoronkwo’s companies Sagicon, Rivbbed and Saagaris –
the latter of which their four-month old love-child was named as a
director of – to ‘bid’ for inflated deals to provide items to the state
including china and vehicles.
The money was then channelled out of Nigeria before it was laundered through a series of off-shore trusts and companies.
Ibori was also helped to steal the cash by his wife Theresa, sister
Christine Ibori-Ibie, and a series of corrupt professionals – UK London
based lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, fiduciary agent Daniel Benedict McCann and
corporate financier, Lambertus De Boer.
 |
| The former £5,000-a-year Wickes cashier owned a £600,000 fleet of armoured Range Rovers and sold £23million of state-owned shares to fund a lavish lifestyle, including £125,000 monthly credit card bills |
The former state governor was arrested by officers from the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria in December 2007.
Two years later at a court in Ibori’s hometown in Asaba, 170 charges
of corruption were dismissed on the basis that there was no clear
evidence to convict.
The case was reopened in April 2010 by the EFCC before Ibori fled to
Dubai. He was finally extradited back to the UK in April 2011.
 |
| Ibori was also helped to steal the cash by his sister Christine Ibori-Ibie, whose plush home is pictured above, wife Theresa and a series of corrupt professionals including London based lawyer Bhadresh Gohil |
Ibori admitted ten offences relating to conspiracy to launder funds
from Delta State, substantive counts of money laundering and one count
of obtaining a money transfer by deception and fraud.
He was excused from attending today’s hearing and Judge Anthony Pitts is
expected to rule on Friday whether he will face a full confiscation
hearing.
Category: Nigerian National News
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