Posted by By Tunde Rahman on
Governors and other top public officials who may have large sums of money stashed outside these shores are running scared as Interpol's dragnet widens.
Pursuit of stolen funds targets SA, Cyprus, Dubai, Lebanon, British Virgin Islands, others
Governors and other top public officials who may have large sums of money stashed outside these shores are running scared as Interpol's dragnet widens.
This is coming on the heels of moves by President Olusegun Obasanjo's economic team who may have seized the initiative to push aside corrupt members of the political elite in the battle for 2007 presidential succession.
Presidency sources told THISDAY at the weekend that President Obasanjo while providing "the moral leadership and back-up for the team has already given them free hands to take the war on corruption to the political class."
Leading this team, according to informed sources, is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu who a Presidency source said last night "is taking no prisoner this time".
Others who work with him are Finance Minister, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Central Bank Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo; Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai; Solid Minerals Minister, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili; Mr. Bode Augosto, Director-General, Budget Office and Dr. Mansur Moutah, Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO).
These members of the core team, who have been pushing the reform agenda, were said to have impressed it on the President that to lead the nation out of the wood, it should indeed no longer be business as usual, especially in the political arena.
The crackdown on the corrupt wing of the political class is said to be in tandem with the prevailing mood in Nigeria and some other foreign countries where reformers have taken over the center-stage in government.
The agenda of the team is to ensure that any public official who is believed to have stolen government money should be exposed so he would not use proceeds of corruption to attain power in 2007.
This, according to sources, accounts for the support of the international multilateral institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) whose officials argue that for the reform to work, "the parasitic members of the political elite have to be edged out."
Working in concert with Western governments, money believed to have been corruptly acquired are being traced while fictitious companies acting as fronts are being systematically exposed.
THISDAY checks further revealed that 'having snookered out Alamieyeseigha", the EFCC is presently working in concert with INTERPOL in a renewed offensive against corrupt government officials.
A list of several governors and other government officials allegedly engaged in money laundering abroad has already been compiled by EFCC and forwarded to INTERPOL and other Western governments and missions abroad.
Under the arrangement, a searchlight has been beamed on the overseas companies 'that have already been linked directly or remotely" to some public officers and their cronies.
THISDAY checks reveal that the search for stolen public funds has now shifted to South Africa, Dubai, Cyprus, Bhairain, Lebanon, British Virgin Islands, Quatar, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle-East where most corrupt public officers are believed to now hide their wealth.
An internet report yesterday on Elendureports.com indeed confirmed that the London residence of Alamieyeseigha was bought through a front company, Solomon & Peters Ltd., registered in the British Virgin Islands on July 18, 2003.
Solomon & Peters Ltd. is said to have its offices at 247 The Water Gardens, Burwood Place, London W2 2DG which is also the London home of Alamieye-seigha whose initials DSP is said to mean Diepreye Solomon Peters, two of which were combined to make Solomon & Peters.
The house which costs 1,750,000 pounds, was paid for in cash and has title number NGL231188, covering the 16th and 17th floors of the building. The registered number of Solomon & Peters Ltd. is FC024869. Dein Jones, a British citizen, is the director responsible for managing the company.
Jones, born in 1963 was appointed a director of Solomon & Peters Ltd. on June 11, 2003. Another director of the company, O'Carrol Lisa resigned on January 1, 2004. The company, according to pubic records, has yet to file their financial statement.
Mrs. Jacklyn Dononvan, of the registry of Corporate Affairs in the British Virgin Islands, confirmed that Solomon & Peters Ltd., was, indeed registered in the British Virgin Islands. She said the company did not register any information regarding their assets and list of directors with the corporate affairs registry.
On September 15, Alamieyesigha was arrested by officers from the Specialist and Economic Crime Unit of the Metropolitan Police at London Heathrow Airport for alleged money laundering.
From the airport he was led to his London home in Water Gardens W2 for a search which reportedly yielded the discovery of 1 million British pounds.
At present, Alamieyesigha is standing trial in a London Court on a three-count charge of laundering a total of 1.8 million British Pounds.
Last year, the London Metropolitan Police also arrested Plateau State Governor, Chief Joshua Dariye, after he was found with 1.2 million pounds. Dariye was due to be arraigned in court when he sneaked out of London and has not ventured back.
The Bow Street Magistrate Court where Alamieye-seigha is standing trial on a three count charge of money laundering had refused him bail last Wednesday prompting him to seek reprieve from an appellate court.
Alamieyesigha who was remanded in court on Wednesday now has to wait till Tuesday to know if the Crown Court at Southwalk will grant him bail. And while the waiting continues, he is being remanded in custody.
The Crown Prosecution Service said on Friday that it needed the mandatory 48 hours notice to prepare for the case.
Following the arguments of the Crown Prosecution Service, the presiding judge at the Crown Court Southwalk, adjourned hearing into the matter till Tuesday. The mandatory 48 hours notice elapses tomorrow.
'Most governors really can't travel again except those sure of themselves that they do not have skeletons in their cupboard," said a top official of EFCC last night.