According to an agreement reached on August 23 between the two governments to repatriate assets the United States forfeited that could be linked to the kleptocracy of former Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha and his accomplices, the Department of Justice today announced that it had transferred over $20. 6 million to the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria).
With this repatriation, the sum that the United States has forfeited and received back in this case totals roughly $332.4 million.
A civil forfeiture complaint for more than $625 million that could be linked to money laundering with the proceeds of General Abacha’s corruption led to the entry of a judgment ordering the forfeiture of about $500 million that was found in accounts all over the world in 2014.
The U.S. court’s judgment against the additional over $20. 6 million was executed by the U.K. government last year. To fund three crucial infrastructure projects in Nigeria that had previously been approved by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian legislature, the United States agreed to transfer 100% of the net forfeited assets to Nigeria under the terms of the agreement reached in August.