13 Nigerian chiefs, others stole $400m, stash loot in UAE- HEDA
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda has said assets and funds worth more than $400m stolen from Nigeria were stashed in the United Arab Emirates.
The leading anti-graft group explained that out of the 800 assets uncovered by investigators, 216 assets were linked to 13 top security officials, while the remaining 584 have been traced to public officials.
Speaking at the conference on ‘Fixing Financial Flows: A critical review of UK and UAE Policies, Laws and practices in Financial and Non-Financial Institutions’, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday, the Chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraju, said the illicit financial outflows from Nigeria have continued to hurt the vulnerable poor, fuel violence and constitute threats to moral authorities of the Nigerian state.
Suraju said the UAE and the United Kingdom had been facing attacks for failing to live up to international obligations in curbing illicit financial flow, mainly perpetrated by politically exposed persons.
In a communique issued at the end of the summit, participants said the UAE and UK represented some of the hosts of illicit financial flow from Nigeria, estimated at $17 billion every year.
Speaking at the summit, the Deputy Country Director, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, Dayo Olaide said while transparent elections remained a momentous step towards probity and good governance, it was disturbing that public enthusiasm towards election was fading.
