Wen Nigeria former head of state Sani Abacha tiff billions of dollars and die before spending di money, dis come lead to international search for di money and e take several years to find dem.
Di man wey dem hire to get di money back, Enrico Monfrini tell BBC tori pesin Clare Spencer how di search take ova everything oda tins for im life.
Enrico Monfrini wey be Swiss lawyer say for September 1999, e answer one phone call from one high-ranking member of di Nigerian goment and dis call change im next 20 years.
“E call me for mid-night, and ask if I fit come im hotel. E say e get something of importance. I reply say time don late oh but OK.'”
‘You fit help us find di Money wey Abacha hide?’
Oga Monfrini say na di Nigeria President dat time, Olusegun Obasanjo bin send di high-ranking official go Geneva to recruit somebody wey go help Nigeria find di money wey Abacha tiff.
As a lawyer, oga Monfrini get plenti Nigerian client wey im don gada since 1980s, wey dey into coffee, cocoa and oda commodities business.
E suspect say na those clients recommend im name give di high-ranking member of di Nigerian goment.
“E ask me: ‘You fit help us find di money and you fit block di money? You fit arrange make dem return dis money back to Nigeria?’
“I reply say: ‘Yes.’ But in fact I no know too much about di work dat time. And I gatz to learn very quickly, so I learn.”
To start di findings, di Nigerian police give oga Monfrini details of some closed Swiss bank accounts, wey dey hold some of di money Abacha and im associate bin tiff, Oga Monfrini write for di book Recovering Stolen Assets.
E say di first investigation wey di police publish for November 1998 find out say more than $1.5bn (£1.1bn) na im Abacha and e associates steal.
Methods wey Abacha and im associates take tiff di Money
One of di methods wey Abacha use take gada plenti-plenti money carry go outside di kontri get as e be oh!
Abacha go tell im adviser to make request to give am money for security issue wey no make sense.
E go then come sign off di request wey di adviser go later carry go central bank, wey go come hand over di money, and dis money dey always come in cash.
Di adviser go come take most of dat money to Abacha house.
Sometimes dem dey even take some of dis money in dollar notes “through truckload”, oga Monfrini write.
Dis na just one way Abacha and im associates take steal big amounts of money.
Oda methods na to award state contracts to im friends at very high prices and then pocket di difference.
While some oda method na to demand foreign companies to pay big kickbacks before dem go operate inside di kontri.
All dis continue to happun for around three years until everything change wen Abacha die suddenly for di age of 54, on 8th June 1998.
E no dey clear weda e get heart attack or na poison kill am because dem no do any post-mortem, im personal doctor tell BBC.
Abacha die before e get di opportunity to spend di stolen billions and some few bank details serve as clues as to where im hide dat money.
“Di documents wey show di history of di accounts give me few links to oda accounts,” oga Monfrini tok.
With dis few information, oga Monfrini take di issue go meet di Swiss attorney general. And then e get im breakthrough.
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Di attorney general come issue one general alert to all di banks inside Switzerland demanding say make dem disclose any accounts open under Abacha names and aliases.
“In 48 hours, 95% of di banks and oda financial institutions declare wetin dem get wey look like say belong to di family.”
Dis come help uncover web of bank accounts all ova di world.
“Banks go deliver documents to di prosecutor in Geneva and I go do di job of di prosecutor because e no get time to do am,” oga Monfrini tell BBC.
‘Bank accounts dey tok a lot’
“We go find out on each account exactly where di money come from and/or where di money enta.
“Showing di money wey dey come in and go out for all dis bank accounts give me further information concerning oda payments receive from oda kontries and sent to oda kontries.”
“So everything just dey like snowball. E start with few accounts, and then large amount of accounts, wey later lead to huge international operation.”
“Bank accounts and di documents wey dey go with dem dey tok a lot.”
“We get so much proof of different money wey dem sent here and there, Bahamas, Nassau, Cayman Islands – you name dem.”
Di size of di Abacha network na big work for oga Monfrini.
Oga Monfrini successfully argue say di Abacha family and dia associates form a criminal organisation.
Dis dey very important because e open up more options for how di authorities fit take deal with dia bank accounts
“Nobody fit understand how much work e take me. I gatz to pay so many pipo, so many accountants, so many oda lawyers in different kontries.”
Oga Monfrini bin agree for one commission of 4% on di money wey dem send back to Nigeria. e insist say dis rate dey “very cheap”.
Finding di money turn out to be somehow quick if compare to getting di money return back to Nigeria.
“Di Abachas dey fight like dogs. Dem dey appeal about everything we do. Dis delay di process for very long time.”
More delays come as Swiss politicians argue over weda someone go just re-steal di money again if Switzerland return am back to Nigeria..
Dem return some money from Switzerland afta five years.
Oga Monfrini write for 2008 say dem send $508m wey dem find inside di Abacha family many Swiss bank accounts from Switzerland to Nigeria between 2005 and 2007.
By 2018, di amount Switzerland don return back to Nigeria don reach more than $1bn.
Oda kontries dey slower to return di cash.
“Liechtenstein, for instance, na wahala. Na nightmare.”
For June 2014, Liechtenstein finally send Nigeria $277m.
Six years later, for May 2020, dem also return $308m wey dey accounts based in Channel Island of Jersey back to Nigeria. Dis only happun afta di Nigerian authorities agree say dem go use di money to help finance di construction of di Second Niger Bridge, di Lagos-Ibadan expressway and di Abuja-Kano road.
Some kontries neva return some of di money wey Abacha loot.
Oga Monfrini still dey expect make dem return $30m wey e say dey for UK, along with $144m inside France and $18m for Jersey.
“Dat should be it, “but you never know”, e tok.
In total, e say im work help to secure di recovery of just more than $2.4bn.
“At di beginning pipo tok say Abacha steal at least $4-$5bn. I no believe say dis na di case. I believe we more or less take di most, take very large chunk, of wetin dey get.”
E say im don hear rumours say di Abacha family no dey so wealthy any more. Or as e tok am, “Dem no dey swim for money like dem used to do before”.
Wen Oga Monfrini look back, e feel satisfied with im work so far.
“Wen I speak to my very many children about dis case, I tell dem I discover money and I block di money, I ginger di authorities to go afta dis pipo and get di money back to di kontri for di good of di Nigerian pipo. We did di job.”
Who be Sani Abacha?
- Abacha fight for Nigeria army during di civil war
- E be Key player for two coups before e come be minister of defence for August 1993
- Abacha become head of state through one military coup for November 1993
- Dem accuse e goment of widespread human rights abuse
- Sake of dis dem later suspend Nigeria from di Commonwealth afta di execution of nine human rights activists in 1995
- Abacha die wey nobody expected on 8 June 1998, for di age of 54 years old
- E be Father to 10 children
