It was gathered that in 2014, a U.S. Federal Court in Washington DC forfeited the money as property involved in the illicit laundering of the proceeds of corruption in Nigeria between 1993 and 1998. Abacha was Nigeria’s Head of State during this period.
The case is a result of extensive co-operation between the Jersey authorities, the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with crucial assistance from other governments around the world.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had stated that the newly-secured Abacha loot will be spent on the construction of the three major infrastructure projects across Nigeria .
