Equatorial Guinea's President's Son's $35m Malibu mansion

For a man paid less than £3,000 a month, the 16 acres of mansion, designer golf course and sprawling gardens speckled with fountains in Malibu was quite a buy. The views of the ocean alone - never mind the 15,000 sq ft mansion with eight bathrooms, a pool and tennis courts - probably accounted for a good chunk of the $35m (£18m) asking price.
But then Teodoro Nguema Obiang's modest salary as a minister in his father's government in Equatorial Guinea is largely symbolic, just like the elections in which his father is returned to power with 97% of the vote and the distribution of oil revenues in a country with one of the highest per capita incomes on Earth but some of the poorest people.

Little Teodoro, as President Teodoro Obiang Nguema's son is known at home, appears to spend as little time as possible fulfilling his duties as the minister of agriculture and forestry in the west African state. Instead he flits between South Africa, France and the US, pursuing business ventures such as a failed rap label while acquiring property and a fleet of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bentleys - all made possible by the discovery of oil in Equatorial Guinea's waters a decade ago.

At the time, there was a promise that the country would become the "Kuwait of Africa", but it has increasingly come to look like Nigeria as a few kleptocrats get rich while the masses eke out a living.

Mr Obiang probably thought his acquisition of the Malibu house through a front company of which he is the owner would slip by largely unnoticed, particularly after there was so little comment about earlier purchases of two houses in Cape Town and a $2m penthouse flat in California. But the British anti-corruption group Global Witness spotted the sale and is publicising it as evidence that the Obiang family has followed in a long tradition of African rulers who plunder their country's wealth while their people live in poverty.

Seen from the Pacific Coast Highway, Mr Obiang's house doesn't look like much, at least not in the context of the exclusive millionaires' mansions looking out from the cliffs over the Pacific Ocean. "Oh, that's a lovely house," explained Malibu Carl yesterday, watching the surfers next to Malibu pier. "That's a hell of a piece of property right there. It's huge."

The house is hidden from prying eyes by a sheer bluff and guardhouse. But while $35m may buy a lot of house, it cannot guarantee you privacy. A stroll along Malibu pier reveals arched windows, plain, cream plaster walls and a tiled roof. Royal palm trees line the drive, and the bright red of bougainvillea stands out against the sandy hillside.

Described as a "playboy", Mr Obiang may be quite interested in meeting his neighbours. Whether they would return the interest seems unlikely. Mel Gibson lives on Serra Road, as does Britney Spears. Olivia Newton John is up there too, and so are Larry Hagman and Titanic director James Cameron. Across the road is the equally exclusive Malibu Colony, the gated community that housed most of Hollywood during the 1970s and 1980s.

"That's one of the premier estates in Malibu," says a local estate agent. He notes that Cher's house in Malibu recently went on the market at $29m.



The property belonged to a Canadian developer named Bill Connor. Rumour has it that he sold two years ago for $28m to a Disney executive (some say it was someone from Fox) before its current owner paid $35m at the beginning of this year. "Most of these sales happen very quietly," says the estate agent. "The properties don't usually hit the market."

President Obiang, who has ruled since seizing power in 1979, has decreed that the management of his country's $3bn a year in oil revenues is a state secret. That is why it is difficult to say for sure exactly how he comes to have about $700m in US bank accounts. But the president's son gave an insight into his salary in an affidavit filed with the Cape high court in South Africa in August, as part of a lawsuit against him over a commercial debt.

"Cabinet ministers and public servants in Equatorial Guinea are by law allowed to own companies that, in consortium with a foreign company, can bid for government contracts ... A cabinet minister ends up with a sizeable part of the contract price in his bank account," he testified.

Global Witness wants the US government to invoke a proclamation by President Bush nearly three years ago that bars corrupt foreign officials from entering the US and allows their assets to be seized.

But Washington is unlikely to move against Mr Obiang when it was so welcoming of his father only last April. The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, called President Obiang a "good friend" even though her own department's annual human rights report said officials in Equatorial Guinea use torture.

Private Jet


Among those on the receiving end have been a group of mercenaries arrested two years ago for attempting to overthrow the regime with the backing of Mark Thatcher.

Before the oil, relations were not always so friendly. In the mid-1990s the US ambassador to Malabo was withdrawn after the state radio station said he had been spotted conjuring up his ancestors' spirits in a graveyard to put spells on President Obiang. In fact, the ambassador was the son of a Canadian airman and was tending the graves of an RAF bomber crew killed during the second world war.



But once the oil started flowing, American drillers such as ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco began pouring billions of dollars into the country. The US diplomats were soon back in a very different frame of mind. Today, the $3bn annual oil revenues gives Equatorial Guinea's 520,000 citizens the second highest income in the world at about £26,000 per head.

But ordinary people see little of it. Most of the population live on less than a pound a day. Equatorial Guinea comes bottom in the United Nations' Human Development Index, which measures quality of life.

Three years ago, state radio declared that the president is a god who is "in permanent contact with the Almighty" and can "kill anyone without being called to account". But President Obiang is mortal after all: he is suffering from terminal prostate cancer. He has made it known he favours Little Teodoro as his successor.

Backstory

The tiny state of Equatorial Guinea, five inhabited islands and a mainland portion of jungle, is one of the smallest in Africa, with 520,000 citizens. In 1979, nine years after independence from Spain, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema seized power, and has been absolute ruler ever since. In the past decade, Equatorial Guinea has become Africa's third largest oil producer. On paper, oil has made its citizens the second wealthiest on the planet. In practice, much of the £370m revenue is grabbed by the president, while most people live on less than a dollar a day. A coup plot was staged in 2004, led by Simon Mann, a friend of Sir Mark Thatcher; the former prime minister's son escaped a claim for millions of pounds in damages when the UK appeal court blocked an attempt by the dictator to sue him.

















  • The Guardian,









  • Ruler: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasongo, Equatorial Guinea


    Son: Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue

    Age: 39

    Bling King: Teodoro Nguema Obiang has a decidedly unflashy title, minister of agriculture and forestry, and a meager official salary -- about $5,000 a month -- in his father's administration, but none of that has kept him from becoming Africa's most glamorous kleptocrat-heir-apparent. The younger Obiang -- nicknamed Teodorín -- owns a $35 million estate in Malibu, California, as well as other properties in Los Angeles, Paris, Buenos Aires, and South Africa.



    His assets (exhaustively chronicled in Harper's) also include a $33.8 million private jet, a fleet of luxury cars, and a small armada of speedboats. He once ran a record label and for a time dated the rapper Eve (she reportedly dumped him when she learned that his father was accused of having once eaten one of his political opponents).

     Bentley

    Last year, the New York Times reported that the U.S. Justice Department had spent several years investigating Teodorín, who investigators suspected of funneling some $73 million in laundered money to the United States through shell companies and offshore bank accounts. His family is spending millions on K Street to rehabilitate its reputation in the United States.



    Teodorín's playboy habits were once believed to have taken a toll on his political future, leading his harder-working, half-brother Gabriel -- who has the support of other members of the Obiang family, as well as of the international oil companies whose drilling operations provide the regime with most of its wealth -- to encroach on his prospects as the country's next ruler. But Teodorín is rumored to be the elder Obiang's favorite -- no small accomplishment, considering that there are some 40 siblings vying for the attention.






    The Millionaire “Minister of Chopping Down Trees”
    By Ken Silverstein

    Not even Gabriel Garcia Marquez could have dreamed up Teodorin Nguema Obiang, the skirt-chasing, champagne-swilling, nightclub-hopping, would-be president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. Teodorin would be a mere embarrassment if not for the fact that he's the son of the current dictator, Teodoro Obiang, and a strong candidate to succeed his ailing father.

    The Bush Administration has embraced Equatorial Guinea, and State Department officials have even been known to claim (though never for attribution) that Obiang Sr. could be a “model” for African reform. That's like saying Enron could be a model for corporate reform. Obiang was “elected” with 97 percent of the vote in 2002 and is widely deemed to be one of the world's most kleptocratic rulers. Indeed, court papers I've acquired from South Africa show that Teodorin effectively acknowledges that ministers can legally plunder the treasury under his father's rule.

    But first a brief profile of the man who would be king: Teodorin holds a cabinet post—he's the Minister of Forestry, or the “Minister of Chopping Down Trees,” as a recent New York Daily News article called him—but very rarely attends government meetings. That's because he spends most of his time abroad: in Beverly Hills, where he owned a lavish estate, started a music company called TNO, and dated the rapper Eve, who recently dumped him; in New York City, where several years ago he offered $11 million to buy a Fifth Avenue condominium owned by Saudi arms-dealer Adnan Khashoggi, only to be rebuffed by the condo's board; in Paris, where he tools around in a white Rolls Royce; and in South Africa, where he recently has bought several vacation homes.

    Like his father and many other top government officials, Teodorin used to stash part of his loot at Riggs Bank in Washington—until a Senate investigation ignited a scandal that ended the relationship between the bank and Equatorial Guinea. A source familiar with Teodorin's outlandish spending habits told me that Junior would frequently call his personal banker at Riggs with imperious and extravagant demands. One day he'd want arrangements made to fly his friends to Rio for Carnival; on another day he'd need to have a Bentley airfreighted from London to Los Angeles; and on another still he'd demand that a helicopter be immediately dispatched to offload a female companion from a cruise ship because she fallen out of his favor.

    Antony Goldman, a London-based risk analyst specializing in west African oil, has long followed Obiang Jr.'s antics. “Teodorin has many enemies in and outside of Equatorial Guinea but the allegations of impropriety and excess [that surround him] are well documented,” Goldman says. “If even a quarter were close to the truth, it would make him a particularly extraordinary character, and peculiarly ill-equipped to be president.”

    Now a man named George Ehlers, the owner of a South African construction company, is suing the government of Equatorial Guinea. According to several stories in the Sunday Times of Johannesburg, Ehlers signed a contract to develop an airport in Equatorial Guinea seven years ago. But after becoming embroiled in a dispute with a government official, Ehlers had to abandon the project and surreptitiously evacuate his staff, which at one point had been jailed.

    Ehlers was never paid for any of his work, and was forced to leave behind millions of dollars in equipment in Equatorial Guinea. He sued in Cape Town High Court and asked that he be compensated in the form of two homes that Teodorin purchased in the city in 2004 and that are worth a combined $6 million (about half of Equatorial Guinea's annual education budget). Ehlers claimed that while the homes were registered in Teodorin's name, they were purchased with state money and hence formally owned by the Obiang government, with which he had signed the airport deal.

    Teodorin denies that, saying he paid for the homes with his own money and the properties therefore cannot be seized to pay a government debt. The court initially ruled in favor of Ehlers and attached the properties but it is now considering an appeal by Teodorin.

    Either way, the questions remains as to how a humble public servant in Equatorial Guinea, whose official salary is no more than a few thousand dollars a month, could possibly afford to buy such lavish properties. In fact, the Sunday Times reports that the homes apparently “were not fit for the son of the president of one of Africa's most prolific oil-producing countries.” Teodorin's substantial expenditure on renovations and refurbishment included hundreds of thousands of dollars for a home-theater sound system, plasma-screen televisions, and bathrooms replete with spa baths, chrome fittings and marble surfaces. (The newspaper also quoted an unnamed security guard who had worked for Teodorin. The guard said his employer “always had a briefcase filled with cash on hand” and that he spent thousands of dollars on champagne and wining and dining female companions.)

    So how does Teodorin foot the bills? In a notarized affidavit he filed in the case, he sought to explain the source of his income:

    Cabinet Ministers and public servants in Equatorial Guinea are by law allowed to own companies that, in consortium with a foreign company, can bid for government contracts and should the company be successful, then what percentage of the total cost of the contract the company gets will depend on the terms negotiated between the parties. But, in any event, it means that a cabinet minister ends up with a sizable part of the contract price in his bank account.
    The only thing that may prevent Teodorin from succeeding his father is intense opposition from other members of the country's tiny ruling circle, who fear that the kooky but menacing Teodorin will become an international laughingstock who will hog billions of dollars of oil spoils, most which is produced by American firms. If he does ascend to the throne, rest assured that the Bush Administration will find a way to justify continued warm ties with its “model” ally.


    http://harpers.org/archive/2006/10/sb-the-millionaire-minister-1159818882

    Kenya, Africa,Daniel Arap Moi and the looted billions

    A post from the Wikileaks mailing list details the looting of that country's coffers by the Daniel Arap Moi regime. It reads like a high-finance political thriller, and what precipitated the leak was the fact that the new president has now gotten into an alliance with Arap Moi and suppressed the report on corruption that it commissioned itself after coming to power on an anti-corruption and good governance ticket.

    The disturbing thing about all this is not the fact that this comes out now, or that it substantiates what many suspected all along, but that this is probably only a small indication of what is really happening on the African continent, and that one need not invoke colonialism and European malice to blame for Africa's problems anymore, since African leaders are capable enough on their own, to destroy their own countries' economies and letting the ordinary people who were tricked into voting for them live in horrible conditions and circumstances.


    We also see the trend emerging in South Africa, the 58 billion rand weapons scandal springs to mind, where the new "liberators" of the country start helping themselves to the taxpayer's resources, seemingly with impunity and with apparent disregard for ethics, morals, laws and common human decency.

    A review of the Mail & Guardian newspaper's headlines over the span of a couple of weeks will normally give an indication of the sick state that the country is in economically, socially, politically, and with leaders refusing to take a stand against Zimbabwe's dictator, their affinity for all things Chinese and their support for Iran to have nuclear capacity, one cannot but have a sense of evil foreboding for the African continent.



    Wikileaks news release
    Embargoed until 5:00 AM GMT, Friday, August 31, 2007

    The missing Kenyan billions

    Link to Wikileaks: http://wikileaks.org/

    Link to Wikileaks analysis http://wikileaks.org/wiki/The_looting_of_Kenya_under_President_Moi

    Link to information about the leaked document: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/KTM_report.pdf

    Link to the leaked document itself: http://wikileaks.org/leak/KTM_report.pdf


    Attribution should be to "Wikileaks" or "Julian A., Wikileaks' spokesman".


    NOTE: Wikileaks has not yet publicly "launched". We are open only to
    submissions from journalistic and dissident contacts. However given the
    political situation in Kenya we feel we would be remiss to withhold
    this document any longer.

    Wikileaks: The missing Kenyan billions

    According
    to a suppressed U.K corruption report released today by the
    whistleblowing site Wikileaks, billions of U.S dollars were looted from
    Kenya by former Kenyan President Moi and his associates. The money was
    laundered across the world, from million pound properties and shell
    companies in London, properties in Newyork and South Africa, and a
    10,000 hectare ranch in Australia, to US$200-$700 million laundered via
    Swiss bank UBP.

    Countries involved in the laundering operations include:

    Australia,
    Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Dubai, Finland, Germany, Grand, Cayman,
    Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Leichtenstein, Liberia, Luxembourg,
    Malawi, Namibia, the Netherlands, Puerto, Rico, Russia, Somalia, South,
    Africa, Sudan, Switzerland, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United
    States and Zaire. (see the Countries index for page references)

    The
    intricately detailed report, commissioned by President Kibaki after his
    2002 election victory but later suppressed, forensically investigates
    corrupt transactions and holdings by several powerful members of the
    Kenyan elite.

    The figures in the report sum to billions of U.S
    Dollars - comparable in magnitude to the looting of infamous
    kleptocrats such as Mobutu (Zaire), Marcos (Philippines), Abacha
    (Nigeria), Suharto (Indonesia) and Fujimori (Peru).

    The leaked
    material is extremely politically sensitive. Ex-President Moi has
    become a key player in political life in Kenya, and is now an essential
    pillar in President Kibaki's campaign for re-election in December 2007.

    As
    of December 2002, the 24 year rule of Kenya's President Daniel Arap Moi
    was ended by the election victory of Mwai Kibaki. Elected on an
    anti-corruption platform, it was hoped that President Kibaki would end
    grand corruption in Kenya. In January 2003 Kibaki appointed John
    Githongo, formerly of Transparency International, as his personal
    advisor on Anti Corruption and Good Governance.[1] One of the first
    anti-corruption activities of Mr. Githongo on behalf of President
    Kibaki was to engage Kroll & Associates (UK), a private
    investigation and security firm, to trace and report on what was said
    by Transparency International to be over 3 billion US Dollars stashed
    abroad, by the former President Moi and his closest associates.[2]

    Close
    to half of Kenya's 35 million citizens live under the UN's poverty
    level of 1 US dollar a day. If the restitution programme started in
    2003 had been completed it would have been possible to get justice for
    the tens of millions of Kenyans who live in abject poverty - as the
    political elite live as Dollar Millionaires on the proceeds of
    corruption.

    The leaked document, dated April 2004, is clearly
    self explanatory - being one of the preliminary reports received by the
    Government of Kenya (described in the report as the "client"). The
    persons stated as "Targets" are President Moi's closest associates and
    relatives.

    Contemporaneous media coverage of the time reveals a
    determination by the Kibaki government to trace and seize the foreign
    assets of Moi's associates.[3] However at some point in May 2004, the
    Kibaki government itself suffered a credibility blow when several of
    the President's closest advisors were implicated in a 777 million US
    Dollar corruption scandal known as the Anglo Leasing scandal. The
    fallout of this scandal resulted in the gradual sidelining and eventual
    exile in the UK (in January 2005) of John Githongo after threats to his
    life.[4] The anti-corruption czar had lost the support of the Kenyan
    President. It was at this point that the Government dropped its
    international asset tracing and recovery efforts. It is believed it was
    at this point that the Kroll Report on Moi and his associates was
    suppressed.

    On August 28th 2007, about 100 days before the
    forthcoming Presidential election, President Kibaki's re-election
    campaign received the formal endorsement of his predecessor, Daniel
    Moi.[5] Ex-President Moi's influence over Kibaki's regime is obvious
    and also evidenced by his recent appointment as a Personal Peace Envoy
    of Kibaki to the Sudan.[6]

    None of the assets traced and
    identified by Kroll have been impounded and Moi and his associates are
    experiencing a resurgence in political clout. Among these assets are a
    bank in Belgium, hotels and residences in the USA, UK, South Africa,
    Namibia and as far away as Australia, a 10% shareholding in Kenya's
    most successful telecommunications company (a joint venture with
    Vodafone PLC of the UK) and massive real estate and agricultural
    investments.

    The leak which emanated from within high levels of
    the Kenyan Government is motivated by the desire to demonstrate that
    President Kibaki has clear-cut evidence of his predecessor's corruption
    and complicity in corruption, and has chosen to suppress the evidence
    and worse still has gone into a political and economic alliance with
    the Moi group.

    A second motivation is the sheer scale of the
    theft of public funds by Moi and his associates. The figures in the
    report run into (if added up) the billions of US Dollars - comparable
    in magnitude to the looting of other infamous kleptocrats such as
    Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, Sani
    Abacha of Nigeria, Suharto of Indonesia and Alberto Fujimori of Peru.

    The
    leaked material is extremely politically sensitive. Ex-President Moi, a
    corrupt, brutal, discredited former dictator, has somehow again become
    a key player in political life in Kenya - so much, that he is now an
    essential pillar in current President Kibaki's re-election campaign.
    His massive financial resources are expected to be used to buy Kibaki
    popular support particularly in the populous Rift Valley region, which
    voted almost to the man against Kibaki in the last election, and in
    November 2005 during a constitutional referendum. The leaker thinks the
    re-emergence of President Moi is scandalous and must be stopped.

    The
    leak will certainly interest the Kenyan media, for whom this report
    represents a grail of sorts. Kenya's large international press corps
    will also be an interested audience. With a Presidential election only
    a few months away, the report comes to light at a critical time.
    The leaked report's author: Kroll Associates UK Limited

    Kroll
    Associates UK Limited is a limited liability company incorporated in
    England (registered number 2020412) whose registered office is at 10
    Fleet Place, London, United Kingdom EC4M 7RB. Its father company Kroll
    Inc., headquartered in New York, US is a private investigation and
    security consulting firm founded by Jules B. Kroll in 1972. It provides
    corporate risk consulting services including financial advisory and
    investigations, identity fraud solutions, background screening,
    forensic accounting, bodyguard services, corporate restructuring, and
    security technology services. The company is now a subsidiary of Marsh
    & McLennan Companies who aquired it in July 2004.

    The US government and the weapons industry is a major permanent contractor of the Kroll Inc.

    Kroll was also responsible for security of the World Trade Center site until it was destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

    In
    October 2004, the Brasil offices of Kroll Inc. were raided by the
    police because of alleged spying activities on the government. The
    company was originally reported to have been hired by the Brazilian
    investment firm Opportunity to investigate Telecom Italia, with whom it
    has been battling to gain control of Brasil Telecom, one of Brasil's
    largest telephone companies. Other notable cases include the corporate
    restructuring of Enron after its 2001 accounting scandal, the law
    enforcement monitoring of Los Angeles Police Department in a US federal
    consent decree mandating major reforms designed to end corruption and
    abuse.

    Kroll was involved in investigating other Kenyan corruption scandals, such as the so-called Anglo-Leasing Scandal.[7]
    About the report

    The
    leaked report is 106 pages long and contains several sections:
    executive summary (1-10), source enquiries (11-54), business associates
    and front men (55-76), and appendix (77-106).[8] The executive summary
    outlines the most suspicious financial transactions, properties and
    business links discovered in its investigation. A series of additional
    enquiries is proposed. The following sections proceed in intricate
    detail, investigating the background, 'modus operandi', business links,
    financial transactions, business associates, and property holdings, all
    around the world, of several powerful members of Kenyan society linked
    to Daniel arap Moi. They include, among others:

    * Joshua Kulei,
    Mr. Moi's former personal assistant, on whom travel restrictions were
    imposed as a result of a previous corruption scandal, the Goldenberg
    affair.[9]
    * Gideon Moi, son of Daniel arap Moi and a current member of parliament.[10]

    * Nicholas Biwott, a wealthy Kenyan businessman and politician,
    previously linked to a number of crimes and corruption scandals though
    never convicted.[11]
    * Philip Moi, son of Daniel arap Moi.

    The report is highly verifiable. Kroll UK, Transparency International, John Githongo, and http://www.marskenya.org,
    a Kenyan website that documents grand corruption incidents, are
    suggested for full or partial corroboration and the document appears
    consistent with the public record.
    KTM report country index

    Countries
    involved in the holdings, transactions and other links of Moi's
    associates, as detailed in the leaked document are listed below,
    together with a reference to the relevant page of leak:KTM_report.pdf.
    Australia

    * Target 3's wife lived in Australia (page 15)
    * Biwott's investment with commercial interests in Australia (page 39)
    * Biwott / Ownership of a 10.000 hectare ranch (page 40)
    * Mukesh Gohil / Directorship of two companies (page 65)
    * Mukesh Gohil / Shantilal Brother (Australia) Pty Ltd (page 85)
    * Mukesh Gohil / South Austral Pty Ltd (page 86)

    Belgium

    * Biwott / Moi (joint?) ownership of Banque Belolaise (page 47)
    * Team Simoco / Simens International / Siemens Atea, the Belgian branch (page 104)

    Brunei

    * Philip is a close friend of Prince Hamid of Brunei (page 57)
    * Moi's family has invested heavily through Prince Hamid (page 57)
    * Philip's wife and children were planning to spend Christmas 2003 vacation in Brunei (page 57)

    Canada

    * Charles Field-Marshal / Biwott's son in law, manager Yaya Center / canadian citizenship and present residence (page 53)

    Dubai

    * Saimon Roadrekearek of Allen & Overy (page 33)
    * Gideon telephone call to Mukesh (page 36)

    Finland

    * Public sector related fraud / Generators from Finland (page 110)

    Germany

    * Solomon Muthamia / Biwott's funds channelled to bank accounts in Germany (page 45)
    * PAB / Aslam / Biwott's money recycles through unidentified German bank (page 46)
    * Team Simoco / Siemens International / Siemens Group (page 104)
    * Proceeds of Turkwell Gorge Hydro-Electric Dam Project / Unidentified banks (page 108)

    Frankfurt

    * $200 million laundered via (page 8)

    Grand Cayman

    * Gideon / Ken Boit (page 32)

    Israel

    * Biwott's investment with commercial interests (page 39)
    * Zeevi's present residence / under investigation (page 48)

    * Danny Vardi / Israeli national, former Israeli Defence Force, an
    advidor to the Israeli government of natural gaz projects (page 54)
    * David Bartknowski / Israeli national, Gad Zeevi's former CFO (page 54)

    Italy

    * Philip Moi / property ownership (page 55)
    * Zara/Rosanna Moi / Philip's Italian wife / numerous bank operations (page 57)
    * Zara/Rosanna Moi travelled from Italy to Leichtenstein and Switzerland (page 57)
    * Zara/Rosanna Moi is relatively unknown, so Philip prefers to use her as his 'Italian connection' (page 58)
    * Philip refuses to visit Italy, uses Dr. Cliemente to recover money (page 58)
    * Mrs Moi was visiting Italy to meet Dr. Cliemente to discuss money (page 58)
    * Philip provided cover to Italian families dealing with drugs in Malindi (page 59)

    Japan

    * Naushad Merali / contract secured to supply Daihatsu 4x4s to government parastatals (page 49)

    Jersey

    * Millions held (page 8)

    Leichtenstein

    * Zara/Rosanna Moi made visits to Leichtenstein (page 57)

    Liberia

    * Muzahim / Philip / counterfeiting (page 59)

    Luxembourg

    * Kulei / Moi / Gideon / CitiCorp / CitiBank / UBP (page 33)

    Malawi

    * Tobacco farm owned by Gideon (page 31)
    * Gideon's meeting with Habinder Singh Sethi (page 37)

    Namibia

    * President Sam Nujoma (page 13)
    * Meeting with President Nujoma (page 29)

    Netherlands

    * Team Simoco / Background / Philips Electronics N.V. (page 102)

    Puerto Rico

    * Moi / Biwott / Zeevi's investment in oil refineries (page 48)

    Russia

    * Zeevi / Chernoy corrupt dealings

    Somalia

    * Muzahim / Philip / counterfeiting (page 59)

    South Africa

    * 74 closed corporations under the name of Harbinder Singh Sethi (page 10)
    * Gideon (page 13)
    * Kulei has property interests (page 23)
    * 74 closed corporations under the name of Harbinder Singh Sethi (page 32)
    * Gideon / Harbinder Singh Sethi (page 33)
    * Sethi holds many of Gideon's assets, a ranch (page 37)
    * Sethi flew the Moi's carrying cases of dollars (page 37)
    * Gideon / Kiplagat / sale of $650,000 Durban-based residential property (page 38)
    * Harbinder Singh Sethi / resident in Sandton, Johannesburg (page 65)
    * Harbinder Singh Sethi / property (pages 66-67)
    * Sethi / 'member' of 74 closed corporations (pages 68-71)

    Sudan

    * Muzahim / Philip / counterfeiting (page 59)

    Switzerland

    * $200 million laundered via UBP. (page 8)
    * Geneva launder Gabriel Moussa Katri (page 8)
    * $100-$500 million laundered via UBP (page 8)
    * Transfer orchestrated by Mukesh Gohil (page 8)
    * Credit Swiss / Sandhurt Matrix / Dr Clemente / Garian Investments (page 9)
    * Gabriel Moussa Katri's $200 million launder / UBP (page 24, 25)
    * PAB / Aslam / Biwott's money recycles through unidentified Swiss bank (page 46)
    * Zeevi and Biwott's accounts Credit Suisse in Geneva and Citiban in Zurich (page 46)
    * Zeevi / $12 million credit from Credit Suisse (page 46)
    * Biwott / significant amount of money moved from Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (page 46)
    * Philip Moi / lost US$15 million process paid through account held at Credit Suisse, Zurich (page 57)
    * Zara/Rosanna Moi visited Lugano in Ticino, a remote area but with over 100 banks (page 57)
    * 'Not surprising' that Zara should visit Lugano, since major international drug barons favor this destination (page 58)
    * Gabriel Moussa Katri / Banque Patrimoines Prives Geneve BPG SA (pages 89-90)
    * Gabriel Moussa Katri / Discount Bank and Trust Company "The Recanati Bank" (pages 90-91)
    * Gabriel Moussa Katri / Union Bancaire Privee (pages 91-92)
    * Gabriel Moussa Katri / Banque Privee de Rothschild S.A. (pages 92-93)

    Uganda

    * Ownership of petrol stations operated through Kenol-Kobil (page 40)
    * Biwott expelled in 1972 (page 48)
    * Damani Harshad / Article in 'The Monitor' / Ugandan individual (page 79)

    United Kingdom

    * Mukesh Gohil / Citibank (page 9)
    * HSBC / Standard Chartered PLC / Barclays (page 10, 56)
    * 6.5 million pounds laundered into Surrey and Knightsbridge (page 10)
    * Sovereign Group Ltd / Sovereign holdings (page 11)
    * Hotels in London (page 13)
    * Kulei and Moi properties in Surrey (page 22)
    * Broadlands Overseas S.A (page 22)
    * Lowdnes Square London (page 22)
    * Kulei stock brokers (page 27)
    * Gideon / Mukesh Gohil properties in London (page 31)
    * 550 million pounds laundered via Citibank (page 32)
    * Mukesh / Gideon holdings in London (page 32)
    * Chales Field-Marsham / code-sharing arrangement with British Airways (page 41)
    * Rayner / resident in the UK (page 44)
    * Solomon Muthamia / Biwott's funds channelled to bank accounts in UK (page 45)
    * Field Marsham / work in an international investment bank in London (page 53)
    * Philip Moi / issue cheques for the purchase of equipment for manufacturing cooking fat (page 56)
    * Philip Moi / used HSBC account to buy equipment for Cut Tobacco Ltd. (page 56)
    * Philip Moi / signed b $500000 Barclays Bank cheques for and behalf of Gateway Properties Inc (page 56)
    * Mukesh Gohil / Properties in Middlesex, Bedfordshire and Leicestershire (pages 61-64)
    * Mukesh Gohil / Directorship of 3 companies (pages 64-65)
    * Sethi / former directorships of 3 companies (page 67)
    * Naushad Noorali Merali / Directorships in 2 companies (page 73)
    * Merali / Holdings in several companies (pages 73-74)
    * Rohit Pattni / Two properties in Middlesex and Surrey (pages 75-76)
    * Rohit Pattni / Director of 6 companies (pages 76-78)
    * Vaju Pattni / KP's brother is in London, travels to Birmingham, Manchester (page 79)
    * Vaju Pattni / Property in Sudbury US$1m (page 79)
    * Damani Harshad / Located in Hertfordshire (page 79)
    * Damani Harshad / Director of company (page 80)
    * Hema Damani / Director of company (page 80)
    * Vaju Pattni / Property searches (pages 80-81)
    * Mukesh Gohil / Armada Services Ltd (page 84)
    * Mukesh Gohil / Technology 4 All Ltd (page 84)
    * Mukesh Gohil / Aandatta Ltd (page 85)
    * Harbinder Sethi / BasicStone Ltd (pages 86-87)
    * Harbinder Sethi / Canray Ltd (pages 87-88)
    * Harbinder Sethi / Hollywood Electronics Ltd (pages 88-89)
    * Naushad Merali / W.P.H Kenya Tea Ltd (page 94)
    * Naushad Merali / Overseas International Telecommunications Ltd (pages 94-95)
    * Akber Esmail / Steel Brothers and Company (pages 95-97)
    * Horatius da Gama Rose / Symphony Global Technologies Plc (page 97)
    * Rohit Pattni / Octogen Ltd (pages 97-98)
    * Rohit Pattni / Riverton Securities Ltd (page 98)
    * Rohit Pattni / Deonberry Finance Ltd (pages 98-99)
    * Rohit Pattni / Ashym Properties Ltd (pages 99-100)
    * Rohit Pattni / L Thomas & Company Ltd (page 100)
    * Rohit Pattni / Fairoak Investments Ltd (pages 100-101)
    * Team Simoco / Corporate records listing (pages 103-104)
    * Team Simoco / Team Communications / Company listings (page 104)
    * Proceeds of Turkwell Gorge Hydro-Electric Dam Project / Unidentified banks (page 108)

    United States

    * Properties held (page 11)
    * Kulei / Terer Kulei owns several properties in NY (page 23, 26)
    * Alnoor Kassam / Zeevi agreement of sale of Trade Bank in NY (page 51)
    * Field Marsham / work in an international investment bank in NY (page 53)

    Zaire

    * Muzahim / Philip / counterfeiting (page 59)

    Notes & References


    1. b Githongo's courageous whistleblowing actions have been the
    subject of much international media attention. See, for instance, John
    Githongo's page on this wiki, and a profile in the New Statesman from
    February 2006, available at http://www.newstatesman.com/200602060018.

    2. b See, for instance, 'State Changes Tune on Looted Billions Abroad', http://www.globalpolicy.org/nations/launder/regions/2005/0519tune.htm,

    May 19, 2005, written as the investigation was wound down by the Kenyan
    government. Kroll also played a role in the investigations of the Anglo
    Leasing investigations, see e.g.'Githongo secret diary', http://allafrica.com/stories/200601240569.html.
    3. b See, e.g., in Time Magazine's article on Githongo, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901060306-1167713-1,00.html
    :
    'Githongo's crusade started at a time of great hope. In 2002, Mwai
    Kibaki, head of the National Rainbow Coalition, won the presidency,
    promising an end to corruption as "a way of life."'
    4. b See, e.g., 'Kenya's anti-graft czar resigns', http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4243619.stm, and 'Kenya graft fighter 'threatened, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4249679.stm.
    5. b 'Kenya: What Moi-Kibaki Alliance Means', http://allafrica.com/stories/200708281270.html.
    6. b 'Kenya: Kibaki Appoints Moi Peace Envoy', http://allafrica.com/stories/200707250755.html.
    7. b As documented by Githongo himself: see 'Githongo secret diary', http://allafrica.com/stories/200601240569.html.

    8. b The table of contents is not easy to follow and does not make
    this clear, but there are 'sectioning' pages. It is a 'consolidated
    report', perhaps consolidating smaller reports. There are duplicate
    sections for some individuals investigated. The table of contents
    refers to an 'Introduction' section, which apparently has been redacted.
    9. b See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldenberg_scandal#Travel_restrictions and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4711546.stm.

    10. b See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Moi.

    11. b See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Biwott
    and http://allafrica.com/stories/200503020867.html.

    Zimbabwe's Mugabe & Cronies Main Beneficiaries of Land Reform - Report

    President Robert Mugabe, top officials of his ZANU-PF party, senior military officers and judges have been the main beneficiaries of land reform with 5 million hectares of land among them

    The Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe said Tuesday that it is examining avenues of appeal following the dismissal late last week by Supreme Court Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku of its application seeking an end to new farm seizures.

    Commercial Farmers Union President Deon Theron said the group's only hope now was to appeal to the Namibian-based Southern African Development Community tribunal.

    But approaching the tribunal could be futile at least in the near term as the ZANU-PF side of the Harare government has dismissed a 2008 SADC ruling ordering Harare to compensate white farmers who had lost land through often-violent farm takeovers.

    Theron told VOA reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that commercial farmers were disappointed with the ruling, in effect a green light for seizures of the white-owned farms that have not yet been taken over - a few hundred compared with several thousand before 2000.

    Meanwhile, Web-based news agency ZimOnline reported that President Robert Mugabe, top officials of his ZANU-PF party, senior military officers and judges have been the main beneficiaries of land reform with 5 million hectares of land among them.

    ZimOnline reported that about 2,200 people now control almost half of the most fertile land seized from white commercial farmers. It said President Mugabe and his wife Grace own 14 farms accounting for a total of nearly 16,000 hectares of land.

    The Web news agency said seven are in Mr. Mugabe's home province of Mashonaland West and the rest are in Mashonaland Central province.

    Vice President Joyce Mujuru, her husband Solomon and their relatives own at least 25 farms for a combined land area of 105,000 hectares.

    Other multiple farm owners include Vice President John Nkomo. Properties he controls include the Jijima wildlife sanctuary, which he seized from a black commercial farmer.

    ZimOnline Editor Abel Mutsakani told VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere that only 150,000 ordinary Zimbabwean have benefited from the land reform program, and that most of them received between 10 and 50 hectares of land.

    Former CFU president Trevor Gifford said the ZimOnline report shows that land reform was intended to benefit the few at the expense of ordinary black Zimbabweans.

    LIST OF ZIMBABWE’S TOP FARM OWNERS
    *The list is not exhaustive as district land officers who have the knowledge of farm owners in any given district were in some cases unwilling to disclose such details for fear of possible reprisals.

    NAME FARM SIZE AREA


    R. MUGABE Gushungo Estates 4046ha Darwendale

    Gushungo Dairies 1000ha Mazowe
    Iron MasK 1046ha Mazowe
    Sigaru Farm 873ha Mazowe
    Gwebi Wood 1200ha Mazowe
    Gwina Farm 1445ha Banket
    Leverdale Farm1488ha Mazowe
    Highfield 445ha Norton
    Cressydale Estate676ha Norton
    Tankatara 575ha Norton
    Clifford 1050ha Norton
    John O’Groat Farm760h Norton
    Bassiville 1200ha Mazowe


    S & M. MUJURU Alamein Farm 1300ha Beatrice

    JOHN NKOMO Gijima Lodge xxx Hwange

    SIMON KHAYA MOYO Marula Block 36 2034ha Bulilamangwe


    CABINET MINISTERS
    Joseph Made Tara Farm 840ha Odzi
    Emmerson Mnangagwa Sherwood Farm 1600ha Kwekwe
    Francis Nhema Nyamanda 1000ha Karoi
    Stanislaus Mudenge Chikore Farm 760ha Masvingo
    Kembo Mohadi Jopembe Block 3000ha Beitbridge
    Benlynian Range 3200ha Beitbridge

    Patrick Chinamasa Tsukumai 800ha Headlands
    Nyamazura 1260ha Rusape
    Hebert Murerwa Rise Holm 1100ha Arcturus

    Ignatius Chombo Allan Grange 3000ha Banket
    Oldham 400ha Chegutu
    Shingwiri 1600ha Chegutu
    Webster Shamu Lambourne Farm 1340ha Selous
    Tobacco Estate 900ha Chegutu
    Obert Mpofu Young Farm 2300ha Nyamandlovu
    Umguza Block 39, 40, 41 6200ha Umguza
    Auchenberg 1026ha Nyamandlovu
    Sithembiso Nyoni Fountain Farm 3100ha Insiza
    Walter Mzembi BW Farm 720ha Masvingo

    Nicholas Goche Ceres Farm xxx Shamva

    Savior Kasukuwere Conucorpia Farm 100ha Mazowe
    Harmony Farm 500ha Mazowe
    Didymus Mutasa

    Sydney Sekeramayi Maganga Farm 620ha Marondera
    Edna Madzongwe Aitape Farm 2000ha Chegutu
    Coburn Estates Plot 13A560ha Chegutu
    Bourne Farm 445ha Chegutu
    Mpofu Farm 1200ha Chegutu
    Stockdale Farm 750ha Chegutu
    Reyden Farm 1340ha



    SECURITY SERVICES
    Constantine Chiwenga Chakoma Estates 1276ha Goromonzi
    Perence Shiri Bamboo Creek 1950ha Shamva
    Eirin Farm 1460ha Marondera
    Augustine Chihuri Woodlands Farm xxx Shamva
    Paradzayi Zimondi Upton Farm 1029ha Goromonzi
    Happyton Bonyongwe Thetford Farm

    Henry Muchena Serui Drift 1500ha Chegutu
    Abu Basutu Swallowfork Ranch 2711ha West Nicholson
    Elson Moyo Daisy Farm 1600ha Chegutu

    JUDGES
    Godfrey Chidyausiku Estes Park 895ha Concession
    Luke Malaba Marula Block 35 1866ha Bulilamangwe
    Paddington Garwe Faun Farm 760ha Chegutu
    Antonia Guvava Harndale Farm 1000ha Chegutu
    Mafios Cheda Marula Block 37 3039ha Bulilamangwe
    Ben Hlatshwayo Kent Estate 800ha Norton
    Charles Hungwe Little England 6956ha Makonde
    Chitakunye Alfias The Grange 1300ha Chegutu

    PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS
    David Karimanzira Arcadia Farm 1300ha Marondera
    Cain Mathema Gwayi Ranch 4600ha Gwayi
    Umguza Block 3700ha Umguza
    Chris Mushohwe Kondozi Farm 400ha Odzi

    Titus Maluleke Clipshap Farm 3000ha Masvingo
    Thokozile Mathutu Dete Valley Farm 2800ha Dete
    Anthonia Extension6500ha Umguza
    Angeline Masuku Wollendale Farm 3000ha Gwanda
    Cephas Msipa Cheshire Farm 2100ha Gweru


    ZANU-PF/GOVT HIGH RANKING OFFICIAL
    Reward Marufu Leopards Vlei 1294ha Glendale
    Kachere Farm 880ha Mazowe
    Sabina Mugabe Mlembwe Farm 1037ha Makonde
    Longwood Farm 924ha Makonde
    Gowrie Farm 430ha Norton
    Leo Mugabe Diandra 815ha Darwandale
    Nangadza 1200ha Mhangura
    Journey’s End 3000ha Makonde
    Patrick Zhuwao Marivale Farm 244ha Mazowe

    George Charamba Battlefields 02 1572ha Kwekwe
    Nathan Shamuyarira Mt Carmel xxx Chegutu
    Bright Matonga Lions Vlei 2000ha Chegutu
    Amos Midzi Magudu Ranch 10701ha Chiredzi
    Dick Mafios Insingizi Farm 1100ha Bindura
    Melfort 554ha Mazowe
    Joseph Chinotimba Watakai 1240ha Mazowe
    Happison Muchechetere Burry Hill Estate 617ha Makonde
    Tobaiwa Mudede Ballineety 3147ha Nyabira
    Austin Zvoma Chinomwe Estates 1432ha Makonde
    Mariyawanda Nzuwa Stella Burton 425ha Mazowe
    David Parirenyatwa Rudolphia 802ha Murewa
    Charles Utete Rudzimi 3350ha Lomagundi
    Paddy Zhanda Chipfumbi Meadows1364ha Goromonzi

    Andrew Cranswick charged with minerals fraud in Zimbabwe

    The financial affairs of Andrew Cranswick are complex to say the least, writes Ben Butler.

    ANDREW Cranswick is not your typical bankrupt. In Zimbabwe, his home country, he is fighting the brutal regime of Robert Mugabe for the right to mine diamonds. In London, he is the chief executive of a listed resources company. His former wife is in Perth, as is his bank account and his yacht club membership. His income comes from Mauritius.

    And then there's the ''hell of a secret'' African precious metals trading, not to mention the former business partner who stole a helicopter.

    The financial affairs of Cranswick, bankrupted by the Taxation Office last month over a $1.1 million tax bill, are complex to say the least. They revolve around a company called Adonis Investments, originally run from the British Channel Islands but now based in Mauritius.

    Advertisement: Story continues below Adonis holds some of Cranswick's 2.7 per cent stake in London Stock Exchange-listed African Consolidated Resources, where Cranswick is still chief executive, despite the Australian bankruptcy order.

    But during an interview with ATO investigators in April last year - before he left Australia, never to return - Cranswick explained that Adonis does much more than just hold his stock and collect his wages.

    A transcript of the interview, tendered in evidence by the ATO as part of Federal Court bankruptcy proceedings, shows Cranswick said Adonis also acted as a means of avoiding strict African currency exchange controls while trading currency and precious metals between African nations and Dubai.


    ''Obviously to those authorities, it's got to be a hell of a secret,'' Cranswick told ATO auditors Robert Dimitrovski, Glenn Lucy and Adriel Creta. Metals were ''traded on quite a large scale'', he said. ''Mostly silver and gold and a bit of cobalt and copper … where the broker was … a legit firm, a big firm in Dubai called ARY - ARY Refineries, if you want to put that down.''

    This appears to be a reference to one of Dubai's biggest gold traders, ARY Traders, run by Pakistani businessman Abdul Razzak Yaqoob.

    ''They don't know Zambia, Zimbabwe, Congo, Mozambique, and how to find people and how to operate on the ground,'' Cranswick told ATO investigators.

    ''It's - for people who have never been there - it's quite nerve-racking.''

    In addition, Adonis acted as a nominee company for an additional ''30, 40, 50'' people, Cranswick said.

    He said he reaped a 25 per cent share of any profit from business he introduced to ''the guy who runs it'', Tony Csaszar, a Mauritian or South African resident.

    ''If there's a transaction - let's say someone in Zimbabwe says, 'OK, listen. I need to get money out of the country,' I introduce them to Tony,'' Cranswick said.

    ''I say, ''This is the chap. He wants to send it to the UK,'' or Australia or whatever the case may be, and then Tony negotiates with him.

    ''OK? And he copies me in on what he's done.''

    Investigators also grilled Cranswick about his investment in a West Australian cattle station, Moola Bulla. He was part of a syndicate that bought the station for a reported $18 million in 2001 after a sale to Fitzroy Crossing cattle baron Peter Camm fell through because he was facing charges of cattle stealing (Camm was later given a four-year suspended sentence).

    The Moola Bulla deal was initially put together using a complex structure devised by Perth tax adviser Greg Dunn, a target of Operation Wickenby, the federal government taskforce investigating offshore tax evasion.

    Cranswick's then lawyer, Peter Lark, told investigators that Perth lawyer Michael Lurie, whose name is misspelled in the transcript as ''Louie'', was also involved.

    ''There's an email on my files from Michael saying, 'We haven't yet worked out how the money comes back,' whatever that means,'' Lark told investigators.

    Lark said he advised Cranswick and the other investors ''to abandon the arrangement. And my advice was to pay the fee and get away from it, which they did.''

    He said the group, which eventually sold out to Great Southern in 2006 in a deal reportedly worth more than $30 million, ''had their own internal problems''.

    ''One of the guys stole a helicopter in the middle of the whole thing,'' Lark told the ATO investigators. ''He went to jail.''

    Lark, who according to court documents no longer represents Cranswick, told BusinessDay he could not comment because of legal ethical rules.

    Cranswick told investigators he was a resident of Zimbabwe, but had not paid any tax there because the system had

    ''completely broken down'' due to hyperinflation.

    He said he had paid some tax in Britain but had not paid Australian tax since 2004, because he was not an Australian resident.

    The ATO wanted more information, and in an email to the ATO's Glenn Lucy sent in June last year, Cranswick said he had started compiling documents requested by investigators, many of which were in Africa.

    He said he was leaving for Africa late the following night, June 9, and asked Lucy to ensure ''that there are no impediments to my exit at Immigration and Customs''.

    During his interview Cranswick had said he would be ''coming back on June 22 for at least 10 days''.

    He has not since returned to Australia.

    Despite his absence, Perth Federal Court Justice Neil McKerracher ordered him bankrupted on October 27, appointing Anthony Warner of CRS Warner Kugel as trustee in bankruptcy.

    Cranswick has yet to respond to BusinessDay's questions.

    Erastus Akingbola, former MD/CEO of Intercontinental Bank Assets frozen for stealing bank deposits




    By Oluwaseyi Bangudu
    January 1, 2010 04:01AMT

    A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Thursday, December 31, granted a Mareva injunction, freezing local and international assets of Erastus Akingbola, the former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank PLC, for total offences amounting to the tune of N346,185,841,243.75 and £1,085,515.00.

    The information was contained in a communiqué from the Central Bank of Nigeria, made available to NEXT, yesterday.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed an application, under sections 6 (D), 7(2), 24(11), 26(1), 28 and 34(1) of the EFCC Act 2004, seeking, among others, the hearing of the Originating Motion within the shortest possible time to prevent Mr. Akingbola from dissipating the assets.

    The U.S. legal definitions website, explains that a Mareva injunction is a type of court order “of interlocutory relief designed to freeze the assets of a defendant, in appropriate circumstances, pending determination of a plaintiff’s claim. Mareva injunctions are often used to prevent a defendant from transferring assets out of the Court’s jurisdiction as soon as a claim is served, in order to frustrate enforcement of any ensuing judgment”.

    Intercontinental Bank PLC had obtained similar injunction from the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court, London, dated December 24, 2009, to freeze Mr. Akingbola’s assets up to the tune of £10,500,00.00.

    Erastus Akingbola London prohibition

    That prohibition included the following assets, in particular: the £8,540,134.58 and £1,300,000.00 which were transferred to Fuglers Solicitors; any money held in an account of Fuglers Solicitors; the property on 26, Chester Terrace, London, NW1 4NB; the property on 65, Grove End Road, London, NW8 9NH; the property on 8, Connaught Street, London, W2 2AH.

    Mr. Erastus Akingbola's travails started on August 14 when the Central Bank of Nigeria sacked him, along with four other bank chiefs, on accounts of what the CBN calls excessively high level of non-performing loans in the five banks.

    This was attributed to poor corporate governance practices, lax credit administration processes and the absence or non-adherence to the bank’s credit risk management practices and having acted in a manner detrimental to the interest of their depositors and creditors. Ever since the sack, Mr. Akingbola is alleged to be taking solace in London.

    On December 17, 2009, a Lagos High Court dismissed a N200 billion suit instituted against the EFCC by four companies, allegedly owned by Mr. Akingbola. The companies – Tropics Finance and Investment Company Limited; Tropics Properties Limited; Tropics Securities Limited and Tropics Holding Limited – had filed the suit before Morenike Obadina of the high court, alleging a violation of their fundamental rights during an investigation conducted by the commission into the company’s operations. They consequently asked for N50 billion each in damages.

    Erastus Akingbola is also facing charges that include conspiracy to grant unsecured credit facilities, conspiracy to manipulate share prices, reckless consideration of credit facilities without adequate security and failure to present monthly statement of account to the Central Bank, among other charges.

    The assets on which the order was granted include, but are not limited to: shares held in listed companies in Nigeria, including, but not limited to, Intercontinental Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc, among others; shares held in other companies in Nigeria including, but not limited to, Tropics Securities Limited; Tropics Property Limited; Tropics Holdings Limited; Summit Finance Company Limited; Tropics Finance & Investments Company Limited; Yankuri Nigeria Limited; Regal Investment Nigeria Limited and Bankinson Nigeria Limited.

    Cecilia Ibru Nigerian Millionaire Rogue Banker Thief and Fraudster

    Cecilia Ibru needs no introduction in Nigeria. With a net worth of over $1.2billion she is ranked among the richest in Nigeria and Africa but lately she has been embroiled in financial scandal. Fondly called “First Lady” of Nigerian banking sector, Ibru’s piled up awards after awards including Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).


    As the awards came, her ego grew bigger and greed set in very quickly as she embarked on a property acquisition binge that spanned the globe.

    The Times of Nigeria investigation in the United States shows that Cecilia Ibru in the past three years alone bought over twenty five choice properties in the United States of America. Some of these properties were acquired using fronts including her daughter, Janet Ibru and son Obaro.

    She also has properties worth millions of dollars in the United Kingdom, Dubai and South Africa.

    She didn’t even trust her daughter enough to have her keep the properties long as she promptly had the properties transferred back to her name most times just three months after purchase for free meaning that she never paid her daughter for the transfer of ownership.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has charged Ibru with money laundering amounting to a staggering 25.4 billion Naira ($203m).

    Some of the money our investigation revealed was used to finance her expensive lifestyle and purchase of exquisite properties around the world.

    The Times of Nigeria is in possession of 25 property deeds in the United States of America belonging Cecelia Ibru with a total of 11 in the state of Maryland.

    In less than 24 months, she splurged close to $6million into 11 properties in gated communities in Prince Georges Country, in the U.S state of Maryland. The properties are all ensconced gated communities reserved for wealthy Washington, DC metro area affluent.

    In this report, we will focus solely on the Maryland properties. We will do a report on properties in Other American States such as Georgia, California, North Carolina and many more.

    Ibru’s first foray into Maryland’s property market was a $452,508.00 property nestled in a newly developed gated community. The property was developed by Toll MD V Limited of Maryland. The deed shows that a front was used to buy the property which was later transferred to Cecilia Ibru. The deed shows the property, located on 4155 Chariot Way; Upper Marlboro was closed on March 12th 2009 by one Anita DaSilva Ibru.

    On April 14th, 2009, Anita DaSilva Ibru closed on another property on the same street. This time the cost was $440, 105.00 on 4145 Chariot Way, Upper Marlboro. A week after this buy, another property next door was guzzled up at a cost of $451, 629.00 on 4139 Chariot Way, Upper Marlboro. A another front was used this time around to avoid suspicion of Maryland authorities the name of Edesiri Onatejiroghene Ibru was used to pay for the property. On that same day, Obaro and Hirut Ibru bought another property on number 4149 of the same street at the cost of $473, 657.00.


    Probably tired of using front in her dealings, Cecelia directly bought house numbers 4141 and 4143 on Chariot Way on April 13 2009 at the cost of $441, 790.00 and $439, 362.00.

    On July 22nd 2008, she bought 14605 Hawley Lane, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 for $399,990.00 through her daughter, Janet Ibru. The same Janet had early acquired 14630 Hawley Lane, Upper Marlboro on the May 17th 2008 at the cost of $460,703.00. On October 28th of 2008 Janet, again, bough the house on 14721 Argos Place, Upper Marlboro for $457,950.00. This was followed by the acquisition of 14719 Argos Place, Upper Marlboro at a cost of $451,840.00 on November 26th 2008.

    One common theme with these houses purchased by Janet Ibru is that they were all transferred back to her mother at no fee about three months after she bought them.

    Perhaps the most expensive of her binge-buy in Maryland is the property on 11300 Dappled Grey Way, Upper Marlboro which she paid $987,949.00 for on October 7th 2008. This time she used her name so no transfer was done.

    The Times of Nigeria has records of these acquisitions along with the deeds showing names of their owners.

    We managed to take a few of the pictures of some of the houses before we were ushered out buy security officials of the gated communities.

    Also, in the course of our investigation into Oceanic Bank’s financial transactions in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, we discovered that a phony company was created as a conduit for illegal transfer of funds from Nigeria to foreign accounts. This phony company is has Cecilia Ibru and one of her son’s, Obaro as sole signatories. We also will catalogue the role played by one Dele Oye who served as a major conduit for Ibru’s nefarious activities and how they use a nondescript company to perpetrate their scam.

    More..................


    By Ifedayo Adebayo





    T

    print email









    The former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Oceanic Bank, Cecilia Ibru turned herself in to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at 2:41pm on Wednesday, four days after she was declared wanted by the commission alongside Erastus Akingbola, former chief executive of Intercontinental Bank.



    The two former bank chief executives were dismissed from their jobs on August 14 and declared wanted on charges of fraud, stock manipulation and money laundering.



    Dressed in her usual black skirt suit, Mrs Ibru looked tired and upset about the entire situation. She came with her lawyer, Niyi Akintola, supported by almost five associates, who huddled around to console her.



    Mrs Ibru had been declared wanted for “failure to honour the commission’s invitation,” said Femi Babafemi, the Commission’s spokeperson.



    Apart from failing to honour the Commission’s invitation, intensive search by the EFCC was unsuccessful, according to Mr. Babafemi. The Commission then concluded that Mrs Ibru went into hiding.



    Dramatically, she came out of hiding yesterday.



    Where was Cecilia Ibru?



    One of the issues that came up was where she had been. However, her lawyer, Mr. Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who came with her client, said Mrs Ibru went to the EFCC office from her hospital bed. She was seen being supported by her physicians.



    “She came right from her hospital bed, even with her doctors and she is here,” Mr. Akintola said. “Nobody, apart from the court of law, can declare someone wanted. The court had made that clear; no organisation has the right to declare anybody wanted or order for the detention of any citizen. It is only the court that can do that. The bailiff is there. Well, she is still being interrogated. We don’t know, but that is the order of the court.



    “Forget declaration, they don’t have such power to detain her,” her lawyer said. Immediately after a brief meeting with the chairman of the EFCC, Farida Waziri, Mrs Ibru, in company with her physicians and EFCC officials were driven out of the Awolowo Road office in a Toyota Land Cruiser, Lagos plate number, BY400FKJ to the EFCC detention facility on Victoria Island.



    In his reaction to whether Mrs Ibru will be released on Wednesday, Mr. Babafemi told NEXT that she was being held for interrogation and that the outcome of the interrogation would determine what the next action would be.



    The bank debtors’ arrest



    The EFCC had yesterday ordered the arrest of all bank debtors who failed to meet a seven-day ultimatum it gave them to refund the loans they obtained from the affected banks.



    According to Mr. Babafemi, about fifty people were to be apprehended by the officials deployed across the country. He said the commission was still waiting for the full report to determine the number of those who had been arrested.



    Meanwhile, counsel to the other 15 bank executives already in custody had already started approaching the Commission’s Lagos office with petitions and request for the release of their clients.



    Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Okey Nwosu and Sebastian Adigwe, former chief executives of FinBank and AfriBank respectively, on Wednesday, submitted a letter to Mrs Waziri requesting for the release of his clients.



    The letter, which was signed by Mr Olanipekun and Anthony Idigbe, requested that the Commission should release the duo on bail, based on the ruling of a Lagos high court . The counsel stated that Mr Nwosu had already been granted bail on stringent conditions, but was still being held.



    The court order submitted to the EFCC, requested that the applicant should be granted leave to exercise their fundamental human rights to personal liberty and human dignity.