The State of Jersey, the biggest territory in the Channels Island, has signified its intention to return £315 million(N88,597,482,750) Abacha loot to Nigeria. Channels Island had previously repatriated in two tranches £140 million of the loot.
The money was reportedly laundered on behalf of Abacha by Mr Raj Bhojwani, an Indian businessman who is currently serving an eight-year sentence in a UK prison.
Mr Micheal Birt, the Ballif of Jersey disclosed the development at a dinner in honour of Dr Dalhatu Tafida, Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK during a state visit to the Island.
Birt, while speaking on Jersey’s financial services and global perception of the Island, stated that the returned loot was in line with ongoing campaign against money laundering.
He said: “We have done a lot to clean up the image of the Island as a safe haven for stolen wealth. What we have in place is a transparent and legal finance heaven where only legal funds can be deposited and accessed by investors.”
In his response, Tafida commended Birt for the Island’s transparent banking sector, while informing them of the Nigerian government’s commitment to fighting corruption and strengthening its anti-graft agencies.
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