The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) says it has recovered about $23.5 million in looted funds from the allies and family of the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha.
In a Thursday statement posted on its website, the agency said the funds were retrieved as part of a wider pool of funds identified by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) as having been stolen out of Nigeria in the 1990s by Abacha and his accomplices.
According to the NCA, the looted funds were recovered after the USDOJ requested enforcement of the US forfeiture order relating to the seized monies after nearly seven years of litigation and international negotiations to secure the recovery order.
The funds have now been transferred to the Home Office of the UK for onward transmission to the USDOJ, it added.
Speaking on the discovery, NCA asset denial senior manager Billy Beattie said, “The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime, and the civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fight.
“We work closely with the 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 perpetrate corruption do not benefit from their actions.”
The Nigerian government is yet to react to the latest development.
Among the funds looted by Abacha and recovered was $723 million returned to Nigeria from Switzerland in 2006.
In August 2020, the government of Ireland and the Nigerian government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the return of €5.5 million stolen by Abacha.
