The British government department allegedly aided the ex-governor’s laundering activities
A new twist has been added to the James Ibori saga, as the British Department for International Development (DFID) has been accused of aiding the laundering of millions of pounds.
A subsidiary of the DFID, the CDC group, is being investigated for allegedly using one of its equity backed funds to help launder money by investing $47.5million in companies that have links with ex-governor Ibori.
The CDC Group is currently under investigation by the Nigerian security forces.
In a response, the DFID insisted that there was no misuse of British funds and that the accusations date as far back as 2009.
“These specific allegations date back to 2009 under the last labour government and were investigated by CDC at the time and subsequently passed on to the Met Police and the Serious Fraud Office,” their statement read
“CDC always carries out full and thorough checks before investing in a fund manager and the subsequent investigation gives no indication that British funding has been misused in this case.”
Ibori, who is expected to be sentenced tomorrow for multiple counts bordering on fraud and money-laundering, was the former governor of oil-rich Delta State and was alleged to have high stakes in several multinational companies in the country.
