FG to receive $200m from Netherlands, Switzerland, recovers N800b loot

Article1

Nigerian Government says it is awaiting the return of $200million from the Netherlands and Switzerland, as part of proceeds from the Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 Malabu oil deal.

This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, when he gave a presentation at a one-day capacity building workshop organised for judiciary correspondents in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The Minister, at the event, presented a scorecard of the Ministry of Justice in the last one year during which he outlined the efforts of the present administration in tackling corruption.

“On the fight against corruption and associated recovery of looted and illicit assets, I am happy to inform you that within the period in contention, Nigeria succeeded in recovering $311 billion from U.S. and New Jersey and the money has been repatriated to Nigeria,” Malami said.

He stated that due to the anti-corruption crusade, the Federal Government facilitated the recovery of $62 billion arrears from oil companies as part of its Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).

According to him, the money has been paid into the Federal Government treasury for utility development such as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Kano-Abuja Expressway, and the Second Niger Bridge, in line with the agreement reached with the foreign partners.

Malami also disclosed that over N685 million was recovered through the help of whistle-blowers within the last one year while N500 million was recovered from forfeited vessels, trucks, and barges.

Elsewhere, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the government has recovered looted funds in excess of N800 billion with over 1,400 convictions secured.

Mohammed, who also addressed reporters in the nation’s capital, stated that the present administration’s fight against corruption was as strong as ever.

While stressing that there were records to back up his claim, he said Nigerians have recently been inundated with allegations of monumental corruption in a number of government agencies.

He listed some of the agencies to include the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).