Corruption: 800 assets in UAE linked to 13 Nigeria security chiefs, public officials – HEDA
Indication has emerged that about 800 assets worth $400 million stolen from Nigeria and domiciled in various cities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been linked to 13 Nigerian security chiefs and public officials.
Investigators have revealed that of the 800 assets said to have been uncovered, 13 security chiefs are discovered to own 216, while the remaining 584 have been traced to Nigerian public officials.
Investigators further disclosed that about N17 billion, being stolen assets from Nigeria annually, are laundered in the UAE and the United Kingdom (UK).
These were some of the revelations made at an international conference held at the Sheraton Hotels, Abuja, organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) and other foreign and local development partners with the theme; Fixing Financial Flows: A critical Review of UK and UAE Policies, Laws and Practices in Financial and No- Financial Institutions.
The chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraju, declared that the illicit financial outflows from Nigeria have continued to hurt the vulnerable poor, fuel violence and constitute threats to moral authority of the Nigerian state.
Suraju posited that the UAE and the U.K. have been facing attacks for failing to live up to international obligations in curbing illicit financial flow, mainly perpetrated by politically exposed persons.
