Abacha loot: State of Jersey to Return £315m to Nigeria

The State of Jersey, the biggest territory in the Channels Island, is set to return £315 million Abacha loot to Nigeria.Mr Micheal Birt, the Ballif of Jersey stated this at a dinner in honour of Dr Dalhatu Tafida, Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK during a state visit to the Island.

Birt, who doubles as the Island’s Civic Head of State and ceremonial head, is the highest ranking official in the Jersey order of precedence.Island, famous for its transparent banking services, had previously repatriated in two tranches £140 million of the loot.

The Europe correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports in London that the money was laundered on behalf of Abacha by Mr Raj Bhojwani, an Indian businessman. Bhojwani is currently serving an eight-year sentence in a UK prison.Speaking on Jersey’s financial services and global perception of the Island, Birt said that the repatriated loot was in line with ongoing campaign against money laundering.

He said: “We have done a lot to clean up the image of the Island as a safe haven for stolen wealth. What we have in place is a transparent and legal finance heaven where only legal funds can be deposited and accessed by investors.”