The United States Justice Department has commenced the process of seizing $458 million allegedly stolen by former military Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, and his associates.
In a filing unsealed on Wednesday in a federal court in Washington DC, government lawyers said the US has frozen more than $458 million in bank accounts around the world.
The US is also seeking to recover at least $100 million more.
The seizure is part of a kleptocracy initiative aimed at recovering money dictators looted from their countries.
It is about the largest recovery ever made by the US.
Head of the US Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Mythili Raman, said: “General Abacha was one of the most notorious kleptocrats in memory, who embezzled billions from the people of Nigeria while millions lived in poverty.”
The US Government has moved to freeze $313 million in accounts in the Bailiwick of Jersey and $145 million in accounts in France.
There are also investment portfolios and bank accounts of at least $100 million in the United Kingdom that the US is targeting, Raman said.
Indicted over the sleaze are Abacha; his son, Mohammed; their associate, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; and a few others.
They were accused of embezzling or misappropriating billions of dollars from the Nigerian purse and laundered the money by buying bonds backed by the US, using US financial institutions.
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