“This is the largest civil forfeiture action to recover the proceeds of foreign official corruption ever brought by the department,” said Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general.
“General Abacha was one of the most notorious kleptocrats in memory, who embezzled billions from the people of Nigeria, while millions lived in poverty.”
AFP quoted the Justice Department as saying on Wednesday that the corruption proceeds – stashed away in bank accounts in Britain, France and Jersey – were frozen at Washington’s request with the help of allies.
Abacha died in office in 1998, but his surviving relatives still include some of the richest and most influential figures in Nigeria.
According to a civil forfeiture complaint unsealed in the US District Court in Washington, the department wants to recover more than $550m in connection with the action.
Justice Department said the frozen assets, along with additional assets named in the complaint, represented the “proceeds of corruption” during and after the military regime of Abacha, who became Head of State through a military coup on November 17, 1993 and held that office until his death on June 8, 1998.
The complaint alleges that Abacha; his son, Mohammed Sani Abacha; their associate, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and others “embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria and others, then laundered their criminal proceeds through the purchase of bonds backed by the United States using US financial institutions.”
The latest action sent a “clear message” that the United States is “determined and equipped to confiscate the ill-gotten riches of corrupt leaders" from Nigeria who are stealing today. Their day of reckoning is coming.
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