Former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori
According to the leaded data, James Ibori is among some prominent
Africans named in a newly discovered secret offshore assets scam
released by a German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
In what has been termed the biggest leak in the history of data
journalism, the German newspaper on Monday released the Panama Papers,
publishing online 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm
Mossack Fonseca, which showed how world leaders, celebrities, athletes,
FIFA officials and criminals hid money using anonymous shell
corporations across the world.
The Panamanian law firm, regarded as one of the world’s most
secretive companies, according to the documents, has helped clients
launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.
The data was obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung
<http://www.sueddeutsche.de/> and shared by the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists with over 100 other media
partners in 82 countries.
Newsweek quoting the report disclosed that Ibori was linked to four
offshore companies including Stanhope Investments, which he allegedly
used to open a Swiss bank account. The account, it added, was used by
Ibori to channel funds for the purchase of a $20m private jet.
Ibori was governor between 1999 and 2007. He was convicted in 2012
for fraud totalling nearly £50m by a London court and is currently
serving a 13-year prison sentence in the UK
According to the leaked data, Mossack Fonseca was the registered
agent of four offshore companies connected to James Ibori, including
Julex Foundation, of which Ibori and family members were beneficiaries.
Julex was the shareholder of Stanhope Investments, a company
incorporated in Niue in 2003. Ibori was also connected to Financial
Advisory Group Ltd. and Hunglevest Corporation, although Mossack
Fonseca’s files do not specify the exact nature of his connection.
In 2008, Mossack Fonseca received a request from the Seychelles
government to produce documents as part of a probe by the Crown
Prosecution Service, England's principal prosecuting authority, of Ibori
and alleged criminal activities.
During his court hearings in 2012 in the United Kingdom,
prosecutors claimed that Ibori opened a Swiss bank account in the name
of Stanhope Investments through which millions of dollars were later
channeled to ultimately buy a $20 million private jet.
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