Ibori pleads guilty to money laundering charges

Former governor James Onanefe Ibori of Delta State today entered a guilty plea before a Southwark Crown Court in London where he was being tried on fraud and money laundering charges.Ibori pleaded guilty to 10 counts of fraud, money laundering and corrutption charges before judge Anthony Pitts.
On Monday, with his trial at London's Southwark crown court about to begin, Ibori, 49, changed his original plea and admitted stealing money from Delta state and laundering it in London through a number of offshore companies. Ibori admitted to fraud totalling more than $79m (£50m), said to be part of total embezzlement that could exceed $250m (£157m).

Prosecutor Sasha Wass told the court Ibori had accepted he was involved in "wide-scale theft, fraud and corruption when he was governor of Delta state".

When he ran for the governorship of Delta state, Ibori allegedly used a false date of birth to conceal previous convictions because a criminal record would have excluded him from taking part in the election.
"Mr Ibori tricked his way into public office. He had tricked the Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian voters. He was thus never the legitimate governor of Delta state," said Wass.

"We are pleased with today's guilty pleas which mark the culmination of a seven-year inquiry into James Ibori's corrupt activities," said Detective Inspector Paul Whatmore of the Metropolitan police. "We will now be actively seeking the confiscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the benefit of the people of Delta state."

Ibori, whose address in England was given as Primrose Hill in north London, was working as a cashier in a branch of a DIY store in Ruislip, Middlesex, when he moved to Nigeria and worked his way up through the political ranks to become a state governor in 1999.

As governor of Delta state, Ibori racked up credit card bills of $200,000 a month and owned a fleet of armoured Range Rovers, said the prosecution. He was trying to buy a plane for £20m at the time he was arrested. Once seen as one of Nigeria's wealthiest and most influential politicians, Ibori was seized in 2010 in Dubai at the requestion of the Metropolitan police and extradited to London last year.

Mr. Ibori's guilty plea  has closed a chapter to a long judicial and political saga pertaining to his massive money laundeering activities in his eight years as governor of one of Nigeria's major oil producing state.

Mr. Ibori faces up to 10 years in UK prison during sentencing, which will take place after the completion of the trial of his accomplice and financial advisor, Elias Preko, a Ghanaian national.

Money Reportedly found in Ibori's House


Britain's Department for International Development (DfID) said Ibori systematically stole funds from the public purse, depositing them in bank accounts across the world. A major breakthrough came when officers from Scotland Yard found two computer hard drives that revealed the extent of his crimes.

Ibori will be sentenced at Southwark crown court on 16 and 17 April.