FG Receives $311M Abacha Loot from US

Pat Stevens/

Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, today confirms receipt of $311,797,866.11 in Abacha loot repatriated from the US and Bailiwick of Jersey.

This was contained in a statement by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu.

According to the minister, the amount increased significantly from over $308 million mentioned in an earlier statement in February to over $311 million as a result of the interest that accrued from February 3 to April 28, when the fund was transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He said the legal process to have the money returned to Nigeria began in 2014 while the diplomatic process which led to the signing of the agreement on February 3, 2020 by the governments of Nigeria, United States, and the Bailiwick of Jersey, started in 2018.

He further stated, “This agreement is based on international law and cooperation measures that set out the procedures for the repatriation, transfer, disposition and management of the assets.”

He added that the money will be transferred to the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority for investment in the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund.