Jailed Nigerian former oil state governor
James Ibori used front men and shell
companies to acquire a hidden stake in
privatised Nigerian fertiliser company
Notore, a British police detective told a
London court on Wednesday.
Detective Constable Peter Clark also said
Ibori had bought two apartments in
Washington in 2001 worth a total of $4.43
million, previously unknown assets to add
to a list of six other Ibori properties in four
countries worth $11 million.
The court was shown footage of one of the
properties, a palatial residence in the
Nigerian capital Abuja complete with
marble columns, crystal chandeliers and a
private gym.
Ibori, who governed oil-producing Delta
State from 1999 to 2007, was jailed for 13
years in Britain, last year after pleading
guilty to 10 counts of money-laundering
and fraud in one of the biggest
embezzlement cases seen in Britain.
He is the most senior politician to be held
accountable for the corruption that blights
Africa’s most populous nation, where
majority have little or no power or running
water.
A three-week confiscation hearing began at
London’s Southwark Crown Court on
Monday during which prosecutors will
present evidence of Ibori’s assets and seek
court orders to have them seized.
Clark, who has investigated Ibori’s finances
since 2005, said the ex-governor was linked
to Notore via a shell company incorporated
in Mauritius and a circle of associates.
“It is my belief that James Ibori has some
sort of hidden interest in the company
Notore,” Clark said.
A spokesman for Notore, who was present
in court on Wednesday, denied that Ibori
had hidden assets in the firm.
“He does not own shares in the company
and no other shareholder or shareholders
hold shares for him in trust so far as the
company is aware,” the spokesman told
Reuters, asking not to be named.
Shares in Oando, Nigeria’s biggest
home-grown energy firm, have
fallen by 10 per cent for two days in a row
after alleged links with Ibori, denied by
Oando.
Notore, which is not listed, grew out of the
state-owned fertiliser company NAFCON
which went bust in 1999. As part of a
privatisation programme, Notore took over
NAFCON’s assets for $152 million in 2005,
according to its website.
Clark told the court that police had seized
five files labelled NAFCON that linked Ibori
to Notore at the office of London lawyer
Bhadresh Gohil, who is serving a 10-year
jail term for his role in laundering Ibori’s
millions.
Gohil had incorporated a company in
Mauritius under the name Notore Chemical
Industries Mauritius Ltd, which Clark said
appeared to be a shell company that would
own part of Notore, Clark said.
Gohil had written in 2005 to Jite Okoloko,
now chief executive of Notore, asking him
to “confirm your instructions” regarding
NAFCON and giving bank coordinates for
transfers.
Gohil also wrote a memo about a visit he
made to Lagos in 2005 during which he
took part in a meeting with Ibori, Okoloko
and Henry Imasekha, who is named as a
co-conspirator in one of the two British
indictments against Ibori, Clark said.
Gohil’s memo said the men discussed how
equity in Notore would be split between
various shareholders. They put the value of
the company once it would be up and
running at $1.2 billion.
A separate diagram drawn up by Gohil was
described by prosecutor Sasha Wass as a
“route map for the ownership of Notore”. It
suggested that more than half of the firm, a
stake valued at $39.7 million, would go to
Ibori, Okoloko and Imasekha.
Clark testified that a 3 per cent stake was
allocated to Mike Orugbo, now a member
of the Notore board.
“He was a front man used to purchase
NAFCON from the Nigerian government. He
obtained 3 per cent to do so,” Clark said.
Ibori, who is at a maximum security prison
in central England, has not attended the
court hearings. (Reuters/NAN)
No comments:
Post a Comment