James Ibori. a former Governor of A oil-producing Delta State in southern Nigeria will have to pay £101.5 million corruptly acquired or spend between five and 10 years in prison. Ibori was extradited in 2011 from Dubai to London, where he was charged with lmoney laundering.
He pleaded guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering and received a 13-year jail sentence.
It has been more than a decade since the case started and attempts by prosecutors to confiscate funds considered to be the benefits of Ibori’s criminality now appear close to becoming a reality.
Judge David Tomlinson of Southwark Crown Court has made factual findings regarding the funds. At a hearing on Thursday, both sides made competing arguments about how the confiscation figure should be calculated, taking into account the judge’s findings. He is expected to finalise and formally issue his order soon.
Lead prosecution counsel Jonathan Kinnear told the court that the total amount that should be confiscated from Ibori was 101.5 million pounds, and that if he did not pay up he should be sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison.
Having served half of his prison sentence in pre- and post-trial detention, as is common, Ibori returned to Nigeria in 2017 and did not attend Thursday’s hearing.
Ibori had reportedly indicated his interest in an appeal against the confiscation order.
ValidViewNetwork reports that Ibori remains relevant, influential and well-connected in Nigerian politics that he has visited the newly inaugurated President, . President Bola Tinubu twice within two months of becoming the President of the most populous nation in Africa.
Britain has pledged to return any money recovered from Ibori to Nigeria. In 2021, it returned 4.2 million pounds that had been confiscated from Ibori’s ex-wife and his sister, who also served jail time for helping him launder money.
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