High profile corruption: How N9.2b fetched James Ibori 13 yrs in UK jail

In our review of high profile corruption trials today, we report how N9.2 billion money laundering fetched former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori thirteen years jail term in the United Kingdom.

Chief Ibori was jailed for thirteen years by a British Court on a 10 count charge for fraud and money laundering worth 50 million Pounds.

We also take a look at another case of N15 billion fraud by Thomas Iseghohi, the Group Managing Director of Transcorp Corporation.

Read on:

James Ibori – N9.2 billion money laundering

Chief James Ibori, a former Governor of Delta State C(2003-2007), was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the High Court in Asaba on 170-count charges involving the sum of N9.2 billion.

The court quashed all the charges, thus exonerating him. The EFCC appealed against the judgment in 2009.

James Ibori was later jailed for thirteen years by a British Court on a ten count charge for fraud and money laundering worth 50 million Pounds.

Upon return to Nigeria after serving his jail term in the United Kingdom, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Nigeria uniformly acquitted him, claiming that there was no conclusive proof that the convict was James Onanefe Ibori.

Ironically, the same James Ibori had pleaded guilty to a 10-count charge of fraud, money laundering and corruption before Judge Anthony Pitts of a Southwark Crown Court in London on February 27th 2012.

On 6th September 2019, a former Goldman Sachs banker in London was convicted for helping launder money for James Ibori, with a £7.3 million confiscation order by the National Crime Agency while James Ibori remains a freed man in Nigeria.

Thomas Iseghohi – N15 billion fraud

Thomas Iseghohi, Group Managing Director, Transcorp Corporation, was arraigned before Justice D.U. Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Thomas Iseghohi alongside Muhammed Buba, Company Secretary and Mike Okoli, Deputy General Manager were standing trial on a 35- count charge of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, money laundering and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N15 billion.

The officials were prosecuted before Justice S. C. Chukwu of Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

The EFCC on Wednesday, October 23, 2013, presented three more witnesses in the trial of top executives of Transnational Corporation, Transcorp Plc., making five witnesses who have testified in the case.

The Federal High Court in Abuja dated October 20, 2014, delivered a no case submission on the case.

However, the Court of Appeal in Abuja on September 17, 2017, discharged and acquitted the former Group Managing Director of Transcorp Plc, Mr. Tom Iseghohi.

In a unanimous decision, the court also set aside the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja dated October 20, 2014, which overruled the no case submission.

EFCC is yet to appeal the judgment at the Supreme Court.

Read also:

High profile corruption: How Bode George ran N85 billion contract scam in NPA

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[This Publication includes part of a compendium by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) covering corruption cases as at 22nd of November, 2019.