Just got this. I imagine Nigerian govt to be such actionable and decisive.

The United States Department of Justice has secured a restraining order against more than $3 million looted funds and a mansion in Houston, Texas owned by former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, in the U.S.

Ibori is currently serving a 13-year jail term in the United Kingdom for corruption and money laundering.
The department got the powers through an application filed under seal on May 16, 2012, in U.S District Court in the District of Columbia, to register and enforce two orders from United Kingdom courts against more than $3 million in corruption proceeds related to Ibori.

This was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton in a statement on the U.SDOJ website on Tuesday.

“The application, which was filed under seal on May 16, 2012, in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, seeks to restrain assets belonging to Governor Ibori and Bhadresh Gohil, Ibori’s former English solicitor, that are proceeds of corruption.

“Specifically, it seeks to restrain a mansion in Houston and two Merrill Lynch brokerage accounts. U.S. District Judge Lamberth granted the application and issued a restraining order under seal on May 21, 2012.

“The department was notified today that its application to unseal the restraining order was granted.

“The United States is working with the United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police Service to forfeit these corruption proceeds,” it said.

According to the application, Ibori served as the governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta State from 1999 to 2007, and misappropriated millions of dollars in Delta State funds.

He laundered those proceeds through a myriad of shell companies, intermediaries and nominees in several jurisdictions, including the UK, with the help of Gohil. Although Nigeria’s Constitution prohibits state governors from maintaining foreign bank accounts and serving as directors of private companies, Ibori and his associates accumulated millions of dollars in assets in the UK and U.S, according to the application.

Ibori was convicted in the UK of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced by a British court on April 18, 2012, to 13 years in prison.

Gohil was also convicted in November 2010 of money laundering and prejudicing a money laundering investigation and was sentenced by a British court to 10 years in prison.

“Instead of working to benefit the people of the Nigerian Delta, Governor Ibori pilfered state funds and accumulated immense wealth in the process,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

“He conspired with Mr. Gohil to funnel millions of dollars in corruption proceeds out of Nigeria and into bank accounts and assets maintained in the names of shell companies and nominees.

“Through the Criminal Division’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, our message is clear: the United States will not be used as a safe haven for the ill-gotten gains of corrupt foreign officials.

“This serves as a warning to those corrupt foreign officials who abuse their power for personal financial gain and then attempt to place those funds in the U.S. financial system,” said ICE Director Morton.

“ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section to investigate and prosecute those involved in such illicit activities and hold corrupt foreign officials accountable by denying them the satisfaction of their illegal earnings.”

The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Woo S. Lee and Elizabeth Aloi of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.

“The case was investigated by ICE HSI’s Foreign Corruption Investigations Group, HSI Asset Identification and Removal Group in Miami and HSI Attaché London.

This case is part of the Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.

“This initiative is carried out by a dedicated team of prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Asset
Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and where appropriate return those proceeds to benefit those harmed.

“Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through institutions in the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.

“ICE HSI’s Foreign Corruption Investigations Group in Miami targets corrupt foreign officials around the world that attempt to utilise U.S financial institutions to launder illicit funds.
“The group conducts investigations into the laundering of proceeds emanating from foreign public corruption, bribery or embezzlement.

“The objective is to prevent foreign derived ill-gotten gains from entering the U.S financial infrastructure, to seize identified assets in the United States and repatriate these funds on behalf of those affected by foreign official corruption,” the statement added.

http://www.punchng.com/news/u-s-court-orders-seizure-of-over-3m-ibori-funds/

Okay, I dey pass, on my way back I go ask wetin em do when them seize the money...lol, what shall it profit a man to loot is country/state, buy houses in foreign land, and make his countrymen die in pennury and rot in jail

Not only should the loot be siezed. It should be return back to the coffers of the Govt. And closely monitored on its usage because in Delta State, blood is thicker than water!!!!.
Uduaghan knows this!!!

y dem born me 4 dis country.,God helps us...*lukin 4 my visa 2 get out of dis country*

What does iT profit a man to loot his country and lose all to another country?

mekzyjoe: y dem born me 4 dis country.,God helps us...*lukin 4 my visa 2 get out of dis country*

me too

I hope after seizing it...they will return it to naija,,,,

Whatever...

ZUBY77: Whatever...

Indifferent as well.

Ibori oh, Ibori oh, Ibori again for governor.

Ibori again? I thought we are done with Ibori`s case.

See as US wan die our money oooo
They should return that money back to FG jare, but they money should be given to GEJ,Farouk or Sanusi oooo because the money go just enter voicemail.

Ournaija: Ibori again? I thought we are done with Ibori`s case.

How old are you pls? Sure you have problem reasoning as an adult

Hmm.....who can bail the Cat from the Lion's den? It's synonymous to a battle between a Talisman and God.....still waiting to see the outcome.

mekzyjoe: y dem born me 4 dis country.,God helps us...*lukin 4 my visa 2 get out of dis country*

Oboy wake up from ur sleep, people like u nai dey tanish the country image oversea so, u go abroad hope u remain die till u die and after u die make them trow ur body enter ocean make shark use u feed

Wetin dem wan carry ham do?...Na dem money ni?..abeg return the money to 9ja pocket now

Why is it that our leaders are happy in making the poor masses cry.this is wickedness on display and the only solution is 4 us to stand up resist all these becos they re not gng to change their way

Any Politician who loots funds and Save the money in UK and US, will face a different kind of adversary. Believe me, you just have to go to jail so the Western Nations can seize your money, and pocket it. Delta State should request their money from USA and see if they will ever agree to send it. They will bring all sort of legal issues and taxes to make sure nothing reasonable comes down.

They should seize the $$$, then when his prison term is about to end in the UK, they should request for extradition, take him to USA, try his silly a-s.s and convict the i-dio.t and sentence him to jail for another 7 yrs...

brownlord:

Oboy wake up from ur sleep, people like u nai dey tanish the country image oversea so, u go abroad hope u remain die till u die and after u die make them trow ur body enter ocean make shark use u feed

Unfortunately they dont learn to stay in their country, even Ghana is disgracing them daily.

mekzyjoe: y dem born me 4 dis country.,God helps us...*lukin 4 my visa 2 get out of dis country*

dey 4 born u 4 syria.

I wonder wetin dis ibori is gaining by stealin our money 2 abroad, wen u can invest in ur country & nig wil benefit. Evry 4 theif 1 day 4 owner! Mayb u may enjoy some lessn wt ur fellow inmate prisoners 2 stp stealin public money abroad

bet the nigerian government will start breathing over US Neck because money is involved

Details in the link below.
http://www.punchng.com/news/u-s-court-orders-seizure-of-over-3m-ibori-funds/

Looting from the loot? Shouldn't the money be returned to Delta state government? In what way did US earn that money?

I hope uduaghan and TA orji are watching the movie ibori is acting and how it is ending.

i don tire for dis matter,afterall even usa return the money for us,our politicians go still chop am.

Abeg make US kip d money jare. Returning d money to 9ja is a big mistake because it won't reach d masses on d long run. Its a case of transferring money 4rm 1 tif to grp of tifs; they are all dsame. Ask dem where they kept all d Abacha loot..."private account"

“This initiative is carried out by a dedicated team of prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Asset
Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and where appropriate return those proceeds to benefit those harmed"

Money is meant 2 be returned to those harmed,Or do u ppl just read the topic alone?

brownlord:

Oboy wake up from ur sleep, people like u nai dey tanish the country image oversea so, u go abroad hope u remain die till u die and after u die make them trow ur body enter ocean make shark use u feed

[color=#006600][/color]..HATERS y d beef? Y 'all crazy..to hell wit u n ur stupid country ..,.AM OUT

Kessyy2k4: I wonder wetin dis ibori is gaining by stealin our money 2 abroad, wen u can invest in ur country & nig wil benefit. Evry 4 theif 1 day 4 owner! Mayb u may enjoy some lessn wt ur fellow inmate prisoners 2 stp stealin public money abroad

If that Ibori can steal all that much money from Delta state then one can be sure that his cousin Uduaghan is stealing double if not more than his mentor did...Smh for this country !

The US should return that money back to naija o.