A report presented by the Human and Environmental Development of Agenda, HEDA in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation has linked 10 former Nigerian governors to properties worth £56 million (N30 billion) in the United Kingdom.
The report which was presented at a media roundtable on Illicit Financial Flow, IFF, from Nigeria to the UK and the United Arab Emirates, UAE, also shows that 216 properties are owned by 13 law enforcement officers in the UAE.
While the identities of the former governors were not revealed, stakeholders have advocated for the creation of a tripartite anti-corruption task force for the three countries to stop the illicit financial flow.
Chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraju, while commenting on the report, said the amount of funds stolen were baffling, noting that both countries have become enablers of illicit funds.
“We should make it difficult for people to take out the proceeds of crimes. The UK and UAE should protect their systems from those toxic resources,” he said
Dr. Gbenga Oduntan of the Kent Law School, University of Kent, UK presented the report titled, “Fixing Nigeria’s Illicit Financial Flows: A critical review of UK and UAE Policies, Laws and Practices”.
According to Oduntan, apart from the huge amount of money illegally stashed abroad by politically exposed persons in Nigeria, $15 billion alone is lost to tax evasion by multinationals in Nigeria.
In addition, he said there is heavy under-invoicing between Nigeria and the UK, adding that fixing Nigeria’s illicit financial flow would require the destination countries to collaborate with Nigeria to shut down their systems against suspected proceeds of crimes.
