The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued a statement claiming that it has recovered $23,439,724 taken illegally out of Nigeria by associates and family members of the late former military ruler, Sani Abacha.
The NCA stated on Thursday via its website that the funds are part of the vast sums identified by the US Department of Justice (USDOJ) as having been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates.
The funds were recovered after nearly seven years of litigation and international negotiations to obtain a recovery order following a request for recovery by the USDOJ, according to the UK anti-graft agency.
The funds have now been transferred to the home office for further transmission to the USDOJ, according to the statement.
Billy Beattie, asset denial senior manager at NCA, commented on the development, saying that the UK is not a safe place for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime.
“The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a safe haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime,” Beattie said, “and civil asset recovery is a powerful weapon in this fight.”
Since Abacha’s death in 1998, the Nigerian government has been repatriating vast sums of money stashed in foreign banks by the late dictator and his associates.
