The epic struggle to recover money embezzled by the late Nigerian dictator, General Sani Abacha, continues apace today, as it was revealed that three Jersey based banks are thought to have acted as conduits for up to £200 million in laundered funds.
The President of the Jersey government's Policy and Resources Committee, Senator P.F. Horsfall, recently hit back at claims made by the media in the wake of the September 11th attacks that offshore jurisdictions such as the Channel Islands were soft on money laundering. 'Jersey is an international finance centre of high repute,' he argued. 'Our laws against terrorism and laundering the proceeds of crime are at the cutting edge.'
Be that as it may, investigations requested by the Nigerian government and Swiss prosecutors have turned up links with the Jersey branches of Deutsche Bank, the Bank of India, and the US giant Citibank. It was revealed last week that the £92 million deposited with Deutsche Bank was the profit from a scheme whereby the Abacha family charged the Nigerian government inflated prices to buy back international debt certificates.
Despite being embroiled in a separate battle with the High Court in the UK, the Abacha family has resorted to their favourite tactic in the face of these new revelations, and has petitioned the island's royal court to prevent banking evidence from being handed over.
Of the three banks implicated, only the Bank of India had any comment to make regarding allegations that it had processed accounts in the name of the Abachas. A spokesman denied that this was the case, and said that the bank was constantly 'strengthening and improving' its money laundering controls.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,563533,00.html
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