U.S. Freezes $458 Million Stolen by Ex-Nigerian Dictator
A civil forfeiture complaint unsealed today seeks recovery of more than $550 million, in what the Justice Department describes as the largest kleptocracy forfeiture action in its history.
The U.S. alleges that Abacha, his son, Mohammed Sani Abacha, and associates embezzled, extorted and misappropriated billions of dollars from the government of Nigeria and others and laundered the proceeds through the purchase of U.S.-backed bonds using U.S. banks.
The frozen funds are in banks in France, the U.K. and Jersey in the Channel Islands, the U.S. said.
“General Abacha was one of the most notorious kleptocrats in memory, who embezzled billions from the people of Nigeria while millions lived in poverty,” Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said in a statement.
Abacha took power in a military coup in November 1993 and ruled Nigeria until his death in June 1998.
The case is U.S. v. All Assets Held in Account Number 80020796, 13-cv-01832, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Zajac in Washington at azajac@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net
You can access some of my papers on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=2131462.
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