£211bn Abacha loot seized from Channel Islands

The sum of £211,000,000 that belonged to a former Nigeria Head of State, General Sani Abacha, has been seized from a Jersey bank account, the UK Metro reports.

Abacha laundered money through the US into the Channel Islands.

The money was put in accounts held in Jersey by Doraville Properties Corporation, a British Virgin Islands company and is now being held by the government until authorities in Jersey, the US and Nigeria come to an agreement on how it should be distributed.

“In restraining the funds at the request of the United States of America, through whose banking system the funds were laundered prior to arriving here, and in achieving the payment of the bulk of the funds into the Civil Asset Recovery Fund, Jersey has once again demonstrated its commitment to tackling international financial crime and money laundering,” Attorney General Robert MacRae said.

Any money that Jersey does keep will be put into the Criminal Confiscation Fund, which is used to pay for a variety of projects.

Abacha ruled Nigeria between 1993 until his death in 1998.