UK launches fresh move to seize assets linked to Ibori

A prosecutor in the United Kingdom, Jonathan Kinnear, on Thursday initiated a fresh move to confiscate several millions of pounds stolen by a convicted former governor of Delta State, James Ibori.

The prosecutor began listing assets that Britain sought to confiscate from Ibori and return to Nigeria at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.

About £117 million known proceeds of crime are being targeted but only a portion of the sum was likely to be recovered.

The case, according to Reuters, is expected to last about four weeks.

The former governor was sentenced to 13 years in prison by Southwark Crown Court in 2012 for fraud and money-laundering.

He returned to Nigeria upon his release in December 2016.

A first attempt was made in 2013 by British prosecutors to confiscate Ibori’s assets but it was aborted after three weeks of hearings due to unresolved legal disputes.

The confiscation process was stalled for several years while Ibori and his associates, who had been convicted for their roles in laundering the money, appealed unsuccessfully.