Ibori Was A Petty Thief, But He Lived and Behaved Like A Millionaire, Says UK Prosecutor
James Ibori
By SaharaReporters, New York
As the sentencing phase of the trial of former Governor James Ibori commenced today at the Southwark Crown Court in London, the prosecution gave rich details of Mr. Ibori’s expertise as a criminal embezzler.
At this morning’s session – a prelude to the former governor’s formal sentencing tomorrow – the prosecution laid bare the methods Mr. Ibori used to defraud the treasury of Delta State of £50 million.
Today’s proceedings were preceded by a rancorous, disruptive crowd hired by the Delta State government to appear in court as supporters of the former governor. The presiding judge ordered the disruptive crowd out of the court.
According to lead prosecutor Sasha Wass, Mr. Ibori “lived and behaved like a millionaire.” She detailed how the former governor started off as a petty thief who dipped hands in the till of his employers. She told the court that the man who was once unable to afford his monthly mortgage payments “went on to live the lifestyle of a property tycoon, living like royalty.”
In February, Mr. Ibori pleaded guilty to several counts of money laundering and fraud. The prosecution said today that this admission established that the whole case against Mr. Ibori was solid and proven, pointing to the greed with which the convict enriched himself by stealing from the people of Delta.
Ms. Wass said that James Ibori had always planned to defraud Delta State during his time as governor, and had made preparations for it in the years before taking office. Mr. Ibori had acquired a new passport with a new date of birth in order to disguise two previous convictions for theft and fraud in the UK. She disclosed that he soon bought a house, the first in a property portfolio that by the time he stepped down as governor was valued at nearly £7 million.
This portfolio consisted of three houses in the UK: two in London and one in Dorset near the expensive private school where his three children were enrolled. In addition, the former governor purchased real estate in South Africa and Houston, Texas. Judge Anthony Pitts was shown a picture from an estate agent's brochure of the South African mansion Ibori bought for £3 million.
"It says on the details it's 'simply sensational.' I'm inclined to agree with them,” Judge Pitts said.
The court also heard how, by 2007, Mr. Ibori had spent £170,000 on motorcars, school fees of £143,000, and £920,000 on an American Express “centurion” card, the credit card company’s card for the incredibly wealthy. The court also heard how Mr. Ibori bought a £120,000 Mercedes Maybach, “the German equivalent of a Rolls Royce” for his South African mansion. The judge also heard that Mr. Ibori was in the process of buying a £20 million challenger jet while being investigated by the UK police.
In addition, the prosecution outlined how Ibori's relatives and his mistress aided him in siphoning off money from the Delta State treasury into accounts in their names, and then into buying property in the UK, South Africa and the US. Ms. Wass detailed the former governor’s clever ploy of using different solicitors to buy several properties, using a different one each time in order to disguise his involvement and throw off suspicions of money laundering.
The court heard that former Governor Victor Attah of Akwa Ibom State finally introduced Ibori to Badrash Gohil, a lawyer who “specialized in money laundering,” according to Ms Wass. She added that Mr. Gohil helped the former governor of Delta State to set up Swiss bank accounts and trusts in the tax havens of the Seychelles as well as the Channel islands in order to hide his thieving.
The UK prosecutor revealed details of huge deposits that the former governor held in a variety of bank accounts that were never disclosed on official asset declarations in Nigeria as required by the Nigerian constitution. Among the deposits were €20 million in a trust fund called Zircon in the Channel island of Guernsey, and £1 million in another trust called Onyx. In addition, Mr. Ibori had six accounts with Barclays Bank in London with more than a million pounds in total. He also had an account in Colorado in the US as well as the use of Mr. Gohil's client account.
According to the prosecutor, when UK police searched Mr. Gohil's office, they found a secret compartment behind a fireplace that held two external hard drives and information that was “very incriminating.” Mr. Gohil, who was convicted last year and sentenced to 10 years in jail, had played a key role in what the police dubbed “the V-Mobile fraud.” The prosecutor is expected to outline the details of that fraud before the court this afternoon.
Ms. Wass will continue to address the court about Mr. Ibori’s extensive criminal activities and abuse of office.
"If the same amount of money
looted from Nigeria economy for the past 30years by their leaders were also
looted from Britain, Britain by today will no longer exists as a region"
~ David Cameron (British Prime
Minister)
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