The last may not have been heard about the much publicized million dollar loot of former military head of state, General Sani Abacha.
The federal government has announced it was collaborating with the World Bank to recover about 185 million euros transfered to some commercial banks in Liettenstein in Central Europe by the Abacha regime through some shell companies.
According to coordianting minister of the conomy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the recovery effort started 14 years ago under the Obasanjo regime when about $500 million were also repaid by banks in Switzerland. She also said the funds received will be used to finance rural development projects accross the country.
“We have been pursuing this money in Liechtenstein and this is part of the legacy of the Abacha monies that were taken out of the country. There has been several steps, through a lawyer, who has been working on this case as well as other cases of lost Abacha money. “But the essence is that we identified this money in Liechtenstein, through our lawyer, Mr. Erico Monfrini of Switzerland. He first started under President Obasanjo’s administration and now credit to President Goodluck Jonathan who has been pursuing it in the last few years with the same lawyer.
“The Attorney General of the Federation has also been working on this. In fact, they were working before I joined and the idea is that there has been several legal steps and challenges that have been thrown in Liechtenstein courts against returning this money,” she said.
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