May 6, 2022

…Funds to be transferred to the DOJ

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has recovered more than $23 million stolen from Nigeria by the country’s late military dictator Sani Abacha, it said on Thursday, the latest in a series of similar recoveries around the world.

Abacha ruled Africa’s most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, a period during which he stole up to $5 billion of public money, according to Transparency International. He was never charged.

The $23 million were recovered after seven years of litigation and international negotiation pursued by the NCA, at the request of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the statement said. The funds will be transferred to the DOJ.

An NCA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a query about whether the funds would ultimately return to Nigeria. In the past, countries including the United States and Switzerland have repatriated Abacha loot there.

REUTERS