Campaigners hail Ibori money laundering conviction but call for more action

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By Martin Coyle Anti-corruption campaigners have welcomed the conviction of James Ibori, a former Nigerian governor who pleaded guilty to embezzling millions of dollars yesterday, but called for more action to stem the flow of illicit funds into the UK. Ibori, the ex-leader of the oil-rich Delta State, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges involving an estimated $250 million. The prominent former politician had been due to go on trial this week. Ibori siphoned off state money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a $20 million private jet, luxury houses, and fleets of top of the range cars. His monthly credit card bills amounted to some $200,000 despite only having an official salary of $25,000 a year. Ibori was arrested after trying to buy a private jet. Ibori, 49, pleaded guilty to 10 offences relating to conspiracy to launder funds from the Delta State, substantive counts of money laundering and one count of obtaining a money transfer by deception and fraud. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on April 16. It is estimated that Ibori hid some $35 million worth of his assets in UK banks. This money was frozen in 2007. Robert Palmer, a campaigner at Global Witness, said that the guilty plea was a "massive victory" for the Met's proceeds of corruption unit. Although it was a sign that the UK government was starting to take the laundering of the proceeds of corruption seriously he sounded a note of caution. "It does still indicate that the UK is still vulnerable to this sort of activity and our regulators and police could be doing more to stop it," he told Thomson Reuters. Palmer pointed out that Ibori's lawyer Bhadresh Gohil had set up myriad offshore companies, provided false due diligence and acted as a de facto banker for Ibori. "This sort of behaviour can happen because the anti-money laundering laws aren't being enforced properly and secondly because you can use front companies and anonymous companies to hide your identity and your assets," Palmer said. "It's welcome that facilitators and other corporate financiers and fiduciary agents have been convicted. It's really positive and shows the importance of going after the middle men and people who make all this happen. However, I would like to know what is going to happen to any of the banks who took this money," Palmer said. Ibori was arrested and prosecuted following a long-running investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Proceeds of Corruption Unit, which is a specialist team investigating the activities of corrupt foreign officials and politically exposed persons (PEPs). DI Paul Whatmore, a member of the unit, welcomed the guilty plea and said it marked the end of a seven-year investigation into Ibori's activities. "We will now be actively seeking the confiscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the benefit of the people of Delta State," he said. The unit worked alongside Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate Ibori, although the governor, who had presidential aspirations, was immune from prosecution under Nigerian law until 2007 because he had served two terms as a state governor. Willing acolytes The investigation found that Ibori, who worked for Sani Abacha, the late military dictator and kleptocrat, as a 'policy consultant', systematically stole funds from the public purse and spirited the proceeds to bank accounts around the world. Ibori inflated state contracts, gave kickbacks and stole state money directly with the help of a number of unscrupulous cronies including his wife, his sister, his mistress, and other corrupt professionals. Separate trials, which could not be reported until now, saw his wife Theresa, 44, sentenced to five years imprisonment and made the subject of a confiscation order of £5.1 million. His sister Christine Ibori-Ibie, 53, was also sentenced to five years, while his mistress Udoamaka Oniugbo, 47, also received five years and has been ordered to hand back £2.7 million. Gohil, 47, has been handed a 10 year jail term. Daniel McCann, 69, a fiduciary agent from Jersey was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment on money laundering and forgery charges. Ibori was first arrested in Nigeria in December 2007 but 170 charges of corruption against him were dismissed in his home town of Asaba two years later. He later fled to Dubai and was arrested there by Met detectives in May 2010 and extradited to the UK in April 2011. Police found that Ibori used his cash to buy a £2.2 million Hampstead house, plus a £3.2 million mansion in Johannesburg. He also had a fleet of armoured Range Rovers valued at £600,000 plus a £120,000 Bentley. He also bought a Mercedes Maybach for 407,000 euros and had it shipped to his South African mansion. The EFCC could not be reached for comment yesterday.