The National Crime Agency, United Kingdom’s lead agency against organised crime, has recovered $23,439,724.98 siphoned out of Nigeria in the 1990s by the associates and family of the late former military Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
The agency, in a statement posted on its website, said the funds form part of a larger pool of monies identified by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) as having been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates.
The agency said the funds recovery followed nearly seven years of protracted litigation and international negotiation to enforce the US forfeiture order relating to the recovered monies.
“The funds have now been transferred to the Home Office for onward transmission to the USDOJ,” it said.
It quoted NCA’s Asset Denial Senior Manager, Billy Beattie, as saying: “The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a safe haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime, and civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fight.
“We work closely with UK and international partners to tackle the threat posed by corruption, which disproportionately impacts the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
“We are committed to ensuring that those who perpetuate corruption do not benefit from their actions.”
