The Daily Mail of London exposes the massive wealth of former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who pleaded guilty to a 10-count charge of money laundering and conspiracy yesterday before a Southwark Crown Court in London.
His rise from DIY store worker to international playboy with a £250 million fortune is the stuff of dreams.
A few years after quitting his £5,000-a-year job as a cashier for Wickes, James Ibori had become one of Nigeria’s most influential and richest politicians.
A massive police investigation into Ibori’s activities revealed he had bought six properties in London, including a six-bedroom house with indoor pool in Hampstead for £2.2million and a flat opposite the nearby Abbey Road recording studios.
There was also a property in Dorset, a £3.2million mansion in South Africa and further real estate in Nigeria.
He owned a fleet of armoured Range Rovers costing £600,000 and a £120,000 Bentley. On one of his trips to London he bought a Mercedes Maybach for more than £300,000 at a dealer on Park Lane and immediately shipped it to South Africa.
He bought a private jet for £12 million, spent £126,000 a month on his credit cards and ran up a £15,000 bill for a two-day stay at the Lanesborough hotel in London.
Prosecutor Sasha Wass told the court Ibori concealed his UK criminal record, which would have excluded him from office in Nigeria.
“He was never the legitimate governor and there was effectively a thief in government house,” Miss Wass said. “As the pretender of that public office, he was able to plunder Delta State’s wealth and hand out patronage.”
He wasted no time spending his new-found wealth on luxury homes, top-of-the-range cars, five-star travel and fees at exclusive boarding schools.But yesterday the 49-year-old stood shame-faced in the dock of London's Southwark Court as he admitted stealing tens of millions of pounds from the oil-rich state he governed in Nigeria. Scotland Yard detectives believe his fraud could exceed £250million.
He was on trial in the UK because much of the stolen money was laundered through his London office.
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Posted: at 29-02-2012 07:36 AM (13 years ago) | Addicted Hero
bmygeorge at 29-02-2012 07:50 AM (13 years ago) (m)
ONYE OSHI, E NO SEE HIM EYEZ? THANK GOD SAY NO BE FOR NAIJA U GET CASE OTHERWISE BRIBE GO SURFACE, I TRUST OYIBO MAN, NO GO DO UR TIME THERE LIKE A SMALL BOY
Posted: at 29-02-2012 07:50 AM (13 years ago) | Upcoming
dogodajiabuja at 29-02-2012 07:53 AM (13 years ago) (m)
DELTA PPLE NA THIEF DEM BE NAAA! JUST LIKE EDO PPLE DEH DO ASHEWO! HAUSA PPLE DEH KILL PERSON,...YORUBA PPLE DEM BE COWARDS! IGBO PPLE DEH DO BUSINESS!
Posted: at 29-02-2012 07:53 AM (13 years ago) | Upcoming
DELTA PPLE NA THIEF DEM BE NAAA! JUST LIKE EDO PPLE DEH DO ASHEWO! HAUSA PPLE DEH KILL PERSON,...YORUBA PPLE DEM BE COWARDS! IGBO PPLE DEH DO BUSINESS!
***MISTAKE SORRY IGBO PPLE NA PROFESSIONAL ARMED RUBBER*****
Posted: at 29-02-2012 09:11 AM (13 years ago) | Newbie
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