The Panama Papers and the nigerians involved.

 

 

 

The ‘Panama Papers‘ consist of 11.5 million confidential files revealing how billions of dollars are hidden offshore by politicians and notable figures from around the world. Leaked from one of the world’s biggest law firms, Mossack Fonseca, which is a Panama-based law firm whose services include incorporating companies in offshore jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands. It administers offshore firms for a yearly fee. Other services include wealth management.

 

The Panama Papers leak has been tagged the biggest information leak in history larger than the US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in 2010, and the secret intelligence documents given to journalists by Edward Snowden in 2013. There are 11.5m documents and 2.6 terabytes of information drawn from Mossack Fonseca’s internal database. its 2.6 terabytes worth of data.

Here are the Nigerian(s) involved in the #panama papers scandal:

 

James Ibori

 

The former governor of the Niger Delta who pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud charges in 2012 has been serving a 13-year jail term in the United Kingdom. However, as of now, he’s still the only Nigerian that has been featured on the ICIJ website as part of the Panama Papers scandal. From his bio on the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists  (ICIJ) ICIJ website, Ibori could be termed a serial “embezzler.”

 

The website made attributions to Ibori’s trial three years ago saying “Ibori admitted using his position as governor to corruptly obtain and divert up to $75 million out of Nigeria through a network of offshore companies, although authorities alleged that the total amount he embezzled may have exceeded $250 million.”

 

Bukola and Toyin Saraki

 

According to Premium Times, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his wife Toyin may be involved in the scandal as well. The paper has alleged that the Sarakis have at least 4 undeclared assets in “secret offshore territories.” While Saraki has denied owning undeclared properties, reportedly saying he has “declared his assets properly in accordance with the relevant legislation,” and that the charges against him “are both unfounded and politically motivated,” his family name may still be tainted as his brother, Laolu Saraki is linked to one of the names on the list.

Laolu Saraki was listed in the Panama Papers as a business associate of Kojo Annan, the son of the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, whose name is very prominent on the list.

 

What does Mossack Fonseca say about the leak?

The firm won’t discuss specific cases of alleged wrong doing, citing client confidentiality. But it robustly defends its conduct. Mossack Fonseca says it complies with anti-money-laundering laws and carries out thorough due diligence on all its clients. It says it regrets any misuse of its services and tries actively to prevent it. The firm says it cannot be blamed for failings by intermediaries, who include banks, law firms and accountants.