Given the United States of America’s (USA) confiscation of $458 million worth of assets allegedly stolen by the late General Sani Abacha, former head of state, analysts are in polar differences over the effect of such loot on the Nigerian investment climate vis-à-vis the economy.
Nigeria’s late head of state died in June 1998, but there have been allegations that over 5 billion pounds was siphoned out of the country during his less than five-year reign.
Nigeria recovered $1.3 billion, the largest tranche of which $500 million came from Switzerland in 2005. A further $1.1 billion stashed away in France, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and the Channel Island of Jersey is reportedly still tied up in various legal disputes, BusinessDay gathered.
“Abacha loot is just historical. It raises a perception problem and gives Nigeria away as a corrupt country in the eyes of investors”, said Muda Yusuf, director-general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), in a chat with BusinessDay.
“Corruption retards development. I have not seen any deeply corrupt economy that has grown. It has a way of discouraging investment”, he added.
The late Sani Abacha’s alleged loot has been traced to Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Reports show the financial institutions involved are Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, now JPMorgan Chase, and New York-based units of Britain’s Barclays Bank and Germany’s Commerzbank.
In December 2012, Swiss ambassador to Nigeria, Hans-Rudolf Hodel, announced in Abuja that $700 million out of the reported $1 billion loot stashed in the country’s banks belonging to the late Abacha had been returned to the Federal Government.
So far, Nigeria has embarked on an international campaign to press Liechtenstein to release 185 million euros which it confiscated in 2012.
“This is a welcome development. This will boost ANAGORconfidence of investors because efforts made to recover the loot shows that leaders are being held accountable”,’ said Benjamin Chuka Osisioma, professor of accountancy at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.
Findings show the highest sum that had in the past been traced to the family had reached almost $5 billion, which includes money allegedly derived from misappropriation of funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), bribes received from multi-nationals, among others.
While delivering judgment in the Unites States, the Justice Department said it wanted to recover more than $550 million in connection with the action.
“This is the largest civil forfeiture action to recover the proceeds of foreign official corruption ever brought by the department,” said Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general.
But analysts say there is the need to educate Nigerians on the whereabouts of the money so far recovered for the sake of transparency.
…as naira eases against dollar.
ODINAKA ANUDU
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