British Prosecutor, Sasha Wass, told London’s Southwark Crown Court on Monday that the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, hid some of his assets in the oil firm Oando and money passed from the company’s accounts to his Swiss accounts.
Ibori governed the oil rich state from 1999 to 2007, and was jailed for 13 years in Britain after pleading guilty in February 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering to the tune of N12.8 billion ($79 million).
In a three-week confiscation hearing which began at the Crown Court on Monday, Wass told the court she would be presenting evidence that Ibori had “asserted ownership of a large part” of Oando but gave no further details.
“The Crown will assert that Oando is a company where James Ibori has hidden assets,” Wass said.
The matter was raised briefly as part of an initial discussion of various aspects of the confiscation hearing. Details are expected to be disclosed later in the proceedings.
Oando is not a party to the case, although a British lawyer was in court representing the company’s interests.
At his sentencing in April 2012, Judge Anthony Pitts said the N12.8 billion that he had admitted to stealing may be a “ludicrously low” fraction of his total booty, which could be more than N51.6 billion.
The confiscation hearing will shed further light on the scale of Ibori’s wealth and determine whether he emerges from jail impoverished or still in possession of a large enough fortune to regain a position of influence in Nigeria.
Ibori could be released as early as 2016 because he spent two years in custody before his sentencing and because he will be eligible for parole halfway through his prison term.
Oando is listed in Lagos, Johannesburg and Toronto.
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