UK government recovers $23m Abacha loot

The UK government has recovered a whopping $23M from Late General Sani Abacha’s loot.

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) recovered the funds stolen from Nigeria by the country’s late military dictator Sani Abacha.

NCA, in a statement on Thursday, May 5, 2022, said the funds were retrieved as part of a wider pool of funds identified by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) as having been stolen out of Nigeria in the 1990s by Mr Abacha and his accomplices.

Billy Beattie, Asset Denial Senior Manager at the NCA said, “The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a safe haven for crimin@ls to launder their proceeds of crime, and civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fi#ht.”

According to Transparency International, Abacha stole up to $5 Billion of public money when he ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998, He was never charged.

The official also added that the NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime.

The statement added;

“The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime, and the civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fight.

“We work closely with the UK and international partners to tackle the threat posed by corruption, which disproportionately impacts the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.

“We are committed to ensuring that those who perpetrate corruption do not benefit from their actions.”