US Signs Agreement With Nigeria To Return $23m Abacha Loot

Nigeria and the United States government have reached an agreement on the return of over $23 million of the Abacha loot.

The agreement signing ceremony was held in the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami on Tuesday.

While Mr. Malami signed on behalf of the Nigerian government, the U.S Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard signed on the behalf of the U.S government.

According to Mr Malami, the fund when returned will be invested in three ongoing projects by the Federal Government, including the ongoing Abuja-Kaduna road and the 2nd Niger Bridge.

Nigeria has in the past recovered several other tranches of the Abacha loot, which are proceeds believed to have been diverted from public coffers by the military administration of General Sani Abacha in the 1990s.

In 2020, the US and Jersey also agreed to return over $308 million in confiscated funds to Nigeria.

In 2006, about $723 million in Abacha loot was returned to Nigeria from Switzerland.

$500 million

The US, in a statement signed by its Department of Justice, said the latest tranche will increase the total amount forfeited to approximately $334.7 million.

“In 2014, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates for the District of Columbia entered a judgment ordering the forfeiture of approximately $500 million located in accounts around the world, as the result of a civil forfeiture complaint for more than $625 million traceable to money laundering involving the proceeds of Abacha’s corruption,” the statement said.

“In 2020, the department repatriated over $311.7 million of the forfeited assets that had been located in the Bailiwick of Jersey.

“Last year, the U.K. government enforced the U.S. judgment against the additional $23 million.”

“This repatriation of $23 million reflects the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to recover and return corruption proceeds laundered through the U.S. financial system,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the US Justice Department’s Criminal Division.