former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori
The
jailed former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, lost a legal appeal
on Thursday against a 13-year prison sentence for embezzling £50m in
one of Britain’s biggest money-laundering cases.
Ibori, a founding member of the Peoples
Democratic Party and a behind-the-scenes kingmaker, who ran Delta State
for eight years, was trying to get his sentence reduced.
His lawyers argued that the original judge had indicated the term would be shorter.
Judge Antony Edwards-Stuart rejected the
argument at the appeal hearing and said money laundering should attract
close to the maximum 14-year sentence.
Ibori pleaded guilty to 10 charges of
fraud and money-laundering in February 2012. He is the most prominent
Nigerian politician to be successfully prosecuted for corruption, in one
of the most graft-ridden countries in the world, according to
monitoring group Transparency International.
The Ibori case was heard in London after
prosecutors argued that, although much of the activity in question took
place in Nigeria, some money did pass through Britain and British
banks.
During his trial last year, a London
court heard the stolen fortune was used to buy six foreign properties
and a fleet of cars, although the judge said the total amount stolen may
in fact be “in excess of £200m”.
PUNCH
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