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Monday, 29 June 2009
Stability a critical issue in presidential vote
Nigeria Corruption war
Asset Recovery and anti-corruption are principally governed by the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) (Establishment) Act, 2004. Both statutes require conviction before assets can be forfeited. However, the laws provide for interim forfeiture of the assets under investigation through an ex-parte process.
The EFCC Act 2004 requires a person arrested for corruption or other economic and financial crimes to declare all his assets. Any false information furnished regarding this is an offence and is punishable by 5 years imprisonment. The disposal of forfeited assets is only upon a final order of court and such assets payable to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation. All instrumentalities of crime directly or indirectly connected to the commission of the offence are liable to forfeiture.
Presently, Nigeria does not have a non-conviction based asset forfeiture regime although there are ongoing plans to incorporate this into the laws.
Some recent cases include:
- In 2005, Mr. Tafa Balogun, then Chief of Police was tried and convicted and sentenced forcorruption and ML. Assets worth over N17 billion were confiscated and returned to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The assets were misappropriated monies meant for the welfare of the Police.
- In 2007, Mr. DSP Alamiesagha, former Governor of Bayelsa State was also tried, convicted and sentenced for corruption and ML. As governor the poverty stricken state of Bayelsa, he stole huge sums from the treasury meant for development projects, approximately N15billion. Some of these assets were traced to the UK, and South Africa. These monies are in the process of being realized and return to Nigeria.
Sharp-dressing ex-Zambian president stole £23m
In a decision of major importance for the fight against corruption in Africa, a judge held that Dr Chiluba took part in two separate conspiracies to siphon off the money.
Part of his ill-gotten gains was laundered through two London law firms, Meer Care & Desai and Cave Malik & Co, who were part of the conspiracy.
In a graphic and telling example of the corruption involved, Mr Justice Peter Smith said Dr Chiluba, president between 1991 and 2001, had a worldwide reputation as a "smart and expensive dresser".
He had hundreds of stylish suits and shirts bearing his monogram "FJT", and specially made "signature" shoes with extra-high heels.
As president, he officially earned about £52,500 over 10 years. Yet an exclusive shop in Switzerland - Boutique Basile - received £600,000, all stolen from the Republic of Zambia.
"This was at a time when the vast majority of Zambians were struggling to live on one dollar a day and many could not afford more than one meal a day," the judge said. "FJT had the benefit of this largesse at the expense of the people of Zambia. He still wears some of the clothes.
"The people of Zambia will know that whenever FJT appears in public wearing a smart handmade suit or a pair of his "signature" shoes that they were acquired by stealing money from the people, the vast majority of whom live at subsistence levels."
The ruling found that Dr Chibula received over £500,000 for clothes, while another £181,000 was plundered by an aide to pay school fees. Other money was siphoned off as cash to buy motorbikes, and over £6,000 was spent on a beauty therapy course.
Janet Legrand, of global law firm DLA Piper, which acted for the Zambian government, said the judgment was a "resounding victory" for President Levy Mwanawasa's battle to stamp out corruption.
Zambia's case was backed by the UK government through an anti-corruption fund that has contributed more than £1m to various causes over the past three years.
The international development secretary, Hilary Benn, said today's ruling was a "historic victory" for Zambians.
"This money, intended to benefit all Zambians, was instead plundered by a few. The money recovered can now be returned to the government of Zambia to be invested in the people's future - such as education or clean drinking water for some of the seven million Zambians living in poverty," he said
However, today's ruling could re-ignite debate about the City of London's role as a centre for international money laundering.
Britain is a signatory to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and United Nations anti-bribery conventions but has been criticised by the OECD for failing to devote sufficient resources to the fight against corruption.
Trisha Rogers, director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, said she was "delighted" with today's ruling but criticised the paucity of assets that have been returned to African people.
Much of the ill-gained money in today's case was held in British bank accounts, she added. Details of precisely how much is recoverable - freezing orders were obtained at the commencement of proceedings - from each defendant will be decided by the court at a later date.
The judge was giving judgment in civil proceedings, brought by the attorney general of Zambia, after a hearing spread over four months and held in private to protect the interests of the Zambian defendants involved in criminal proceedings.
The case was brought in London because it was considered to be the centre of wrongdoing by defendants based in Zambia and elsewhere and because the stolen money passed through bank accounts in London.
Other defendants found liable by the judge were Xavier Chungu, former head of Zambian secret intelligence services, Stella Chibanda, a former senior official in the Ministry of Finance, and two financial advisers and directors of Access Financial Services Ltd - Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu.
The judge also held that the former Zambian ambassador to the US, Atan Shansonga, was liable for giving dishonest assistance in respect of about £1.4m.
Raphael Soriano, a Congolese now resident in Belgium, participated in the misappropriation of £10.5m.
And the judge held that FJT's Swiss tailors, Basile, were liable for £600,000 for conspiracy and dishonest assistance.
Mr Chiluba's election, after decades of rule by Kenneth Kaunda, led to a wave of optimism which dissipated as economic problems deepened. A former union leader, Mr Chiluba as president backed free-market policies and oversaw the privatisation of many nationalised industries.
He left power after failing in an attempt to rewrite his country's constitution to enable him to stand for a third term and has been dogged by corruption allegations ever since.
Chiluba Told To Repay Stolen Millions
Frederick Chiluba: A Thief who was denied a dictaor's position?
Chiluba's legacy to Zambia | |||||
Former BBC Zambia correspondent Ishbel Matheson reflects on Frederick Chiluba's time as president. Mr Chiluba has been found guilty of stealing $46m (£23m) of public money by a court in London.
Soon after President Frederick JT Chiluba swept to power in a landslide election win in 1991, he was heard to remark to close aides: "Power is sweet." After 10 years in charge, the former bus conductor and trade union leader, continued to enjoy the taste of power. So much so that he mounted a campaign to change the country's constitution to allow him to run for the presidency a third time. He was forced to abandon this plan, after massive opposition from within his own ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) and from the Zambian public. But the move did much to damage the president's personal prestige. Many Zambians saw it as an attempt to turn the clock back - as well as a betrayal of the democratic principles which he had preached since the beginning of his presidency. "We don't hate you, Mr President," said one shop assistant as the arguments raged in 2001. "But please just do the right thing, and leave." Heady times When Mr Chiluba was elected, it was amid a atmosphere of elation and euphoria. His fledgling MMD had trounced the incumbent Kenneth Kaunda and his ruling Unip at the polls.
It was an audacious victory, which sent shockwaves across Africa. The charismatic Mr Kaunda had held the reins of power since independence in 1964 - much of it under one-party rule. Although he had been forced by popular discontent to hold elections, when beaten at the polls, he ceded power peacefully. His successor Frederick Chiluba was hailed as one of a new breed of democratically elected leaders, in a continent where rulers clung on for decades. Zambians looked forward to a bright, new future. The new government set about unshackling the country's collapsing economy from stifling state controls. Guided by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, it embraced the free-market market with one of the most ambitious liberalisation programmes in Africa. With its large copper reserves - some of the biggest in the world - and rich agricultural potential, foreign investors started to eye this poor southern Africa nation with interest. Reality But 10 years on, that optimism had mostly evaporated. Many regarded Mr Chiluba's rule as a disappointment. The promise of the MMD revolution remained unfulfilled. So what went wrong? For one, despite being promoted as an new-style African leader, Mr Chiluba began to show some decidedly old-fashioned traits.
Within a year-and-a-half, he had sacked independent-minded colleagues from his cabinet, and began to surround himself by "yes" men and women. Corruption flourished. Some of Mr Chiluba's cronies, it seemed, were more interested with lining their own pockets, than serving their country. Within a decade, graft seeped into Zambia's way of life. "Kaunda's men were pickpockets," commented one Zambian journalist. "But Chiluba's lot are thieves." The government's sell-off of the copper mines - the country's biggest asset - was botched and scandal-ridden. A parliamentary probe revealed that some of the assets of ZCCM, the mines' company, simply vanished into thin air, while other valuable properties were sold for a song. In the meantime, the free-market economy failed to deliver. Despite billions of dollars of international aid since 1991, three-quarters of Zambia's population still live below the World Bank poverty threshold of $1 a day. The much-needed foreign investment to kick-start the economy has not transpired. Kaunda A large part of the blame must rest with Mr Chiluba himself. He often seemed more interested in securing his own position, than improving the lot of his people. His attempts to hound his rival and former president, Mr Kaunda, out of politics in the mid-1990s, tarnished his reputation badly with the international community.
In 1997, Mr Kaunda was accused of conspiring in failed coup plot and imprisoned. It took protests from Africa's elder statesmen, Nelson Mandela and Julius Nyerere, to persuade Mr Chiluba to release him. Then there was the long-running, politically inspired court case, which attempted to strip Zambia's independence leader of his citizenship. Many saw the hounding of Mr Kaunda as spiteful and malicious, by a leader who felt jealous of the older man's popularity, both with the Zambian people and among fellow African leaders. Mr Chiluba, himself, cut a curious figure in public life. He is a "natty" dresser, with a fondness for expensive, monogrammed clothes, and built-up shoes to improve his diminutive height. A fervent born-again Christian, his private life was the subject of much gossip. In September 2001, he divorced his wife Vera, to whom he had been married for 33 years. Positive change But although Mr Chiluba may not have left office a popular leader, Zambia changed greatly under his tenure, and a lot of it, for the good. The public opposition to his third term bid showed that Zambians treasured their young democracy, so much so that even in this famously, laid-back country, they were prepared to mobilise to protect it. Moreover, the freedom of speech allowed under Mr Chiluba would have been unthinkable for much of Mr Kaunda's rule. There was a lively, free printed media, which relentlessly - and cruelly - lampooned the country's political leadership including Mr Chiluba. Such public mockery of the presidency is unknown in some parts of Africa. Although the free-market has not delivered prosperity, the consensus among the country's political class - opposition and government - is that it is the only way forward. The goal is to make Zambia's economy work better, not to return to the days of price controls, and the over-weaning state. Finally, although Mr Chiluba wanted to stay in power, it is to his credit that he did not use widespread, state-sponsored violence to do so. Zambians only have to look south, to neighbouring Zimbabwe and President Robert Mugabe, to see what the alternative might have been. Mr Chiluba - Zambia's second leader since independence - opted to go the other route, leaving office peacefully. For this, Zambians can be thankful. |
French court blocks corruption book
A French court has blocked the publication of a book by a former investigating magistrate who exposed corruption at the Elf oil company.
The court said that Eva Joly's book, which was due out on Thursday, might prejudice the ongoing trial of former Elf executives.
The book will now be published only after the closing arguments for the defence in the trial, scheduled for 7 July.
Correspondents say this is the first time a book by a judge has been blocked by the French courts.
Ms Joly said she would appeal against the decision, denouncing it as "censorship".
"Ms Joly has served our country with courage and should be proposed for the Legion of Honour," said Socialist MP Arnaud Montebourg.
Network of graft
The book - titled Is this the world we want to live in?, argues that France is institutionally corrupt.
Ms Joly, 57, led the investigation against Elf from its inception in 1994, focusing initially on Elf's bail-out of the Bidermann textile group and Bidermann's apparent payment of a secret commission to Elf director Loik le Floch-Prigent's wife.
But the inquiry soon widened as investigators found evidence of a network of graft stretching to Spain, Germany and Africa.
The Norwegian-born magistrate is considered to be at the vanguard of a new generation of lawyers bent on exposing the corrupt practices that were once part and parcel of the French political system.
Correspondents say she has made some powerful enemies during the trial.
Le Floch-Prigent and two other senior officials, Alfred Sirven and Andre Tarallo, could face jail of up to eight years if convicted for a range of financial machinations which enriched African leaders and some of the defendants.
Le Floch-Prigent and Sirven have been serving prison sentences since 2001 for organising a company slush fund.
But former foreign minister Roland Dumas was cleared on appeal in January of receiving Elf-funded gifts from his former mistress.
New Claims About Corrupt Relations With Dictators
The possibility that French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner might have misused his public position in France to boost his profitable private business with prominent African dictators arises at a time when the local authorities are dealing with numerous corruption affairs.
The accusations against Kouchner are summarised in a new book "Le Monde selon K." ("The world according to K.") by investigative journalist Pierre Pean.
In the book, Pean alleges that Kouchner, co-owner of IMEDIA and African Steps, obtained profitable contracts from the governments of Gabon and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) at a time when he was executive director of a public health cooperation agency in Paris. IMEDIA and African Steps are two political counselling companies.
The governments in Gabon and the Republic of Congo - both oil-rich countries - are notorious as two particularly corrupt dictatorships. Omar Bongo has ruled Gabon since 1968 and Denis Sassou Nguesso has been in power in Brazzaville since 1997 when his troops, supported by Angola, won a civil war against then president Pascal Lissouba.
Bongo and Sassou Nguesso have family links: Bongo is married to Edith Lucie Sassou-Nguesso, Denis's daughter.
According to the claims by Pean, based on official documents from the respective African governments, the two companies were paid 4.6 million euros by the governments of Gabon and Congo Brazzaville, for advising their respective health departments.
Although Kouchner's activities as advisor were not illegal, several circumstances make the dealings with Bongo and Sassou Nguesso problematic. On the one hand, Kouchner was at the time of the dealings president of Esther, a French health cooperation agency which mainly engages with African countries.
On the other hand, the last payments by the Gabonese government to IMEDIA came when Kouchner was already serving as foreign minister. In a letter dated Aug 2, 2007, Eric Danon, executive at IMEDIA and close to Kouchner, urged Bongo's government to pay bills which had been outstanding since 2006.
Finally, in January and March 2008, the Gabonese government settled the bills.
IPS possesses copies of the letter by Danon, as well as of the transfers from the Gabonese treasury to IMEDIA. As foreign minister, Kouchner appointed Danon and his other business partner Jacques Baudouin to important posts at the foreign ministry.
And finally, the dealings contradict the image Kouchner has always transmitted of himself. "What I find reproachful is that Kouchner has cultivated an image of an immaculate knight whose behaviour is firmly rooted on ethics," Pean told IPS. "But this image does not fit his business dealings."
Kouchner, who had been a former member of the Socialist Party since the 1980s until he left the party to become minister under right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy, has denied any wrongdoings. "Pean's accusations against me are abominable and grotesque," he said during a parliamentary debate on Feb 4.
Kouchner said that he was proud of having helped the two African governments to improve their public health systems and announced that he is pursuing a case of defamation against Pean.
Kouchner's dealings are also more questionable because they involve dictators who, despite presiding over some of the poorest people in Africa, command huge fortunes, as evidenced by their vast properties in France.
According to a report by the Paris-based police agency against organised and financial crimes (OCRGDF, after its French name), Bongo and Sassou Nguesso, together with the president of Angola, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, and that of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, possess considerable fortunes in real estate and luxurious automobiles in France.
The OCRGDF report, consisting of 34 files and thousands of pages, was opened in late 2007 after three French humanitarian associations lodged a complaint against the four dictators and the president of Burkina Faso, Blase Compaore, under the charges of "embezzlement of public funds".
In the report, the French police conclude that the African leaders have amassed a fortune in real estate in "the neighbourhoods (in and around Paris) of highest commercial value" and presents a non-exhaustive list of properties. All African leaders investigated are also owners of large fleets of luxurious sport cars and limousines and control numerous bank accounts.
The list includes a luxurious mansion near the Champs Elysees, the most high-priced neighbourhood in Paris, bought on June 15, 2007 for almost 19 million Euros (some 25 million dollars), by Omar Bongo's two children, Omar Denis and Yacine Queenie, who were 13 and 16 years old at the time.
Bongo alone is owner of 33 luxurious real estate properties in Paris and in the south of France.
Similarly, Denis Sassou Nguesso and his relatives are owners of at least five sumptuous mansions in and around Paris, for a market value of at least 10 million euros.
The African dictators also own a large flotilla of expensive sport automobiles and limousines, including Ferraris, Bugattis, Aston Martins and Mercedez Benzes. According to the OCRGDF report, Teodoro Nguema Obiang, of Equatorial Guinea possesses 15 luxurious sport cars and limousines, worth 5.7 million euros.
Despite the evidence suggesting impropriety, the French authorities closed the investigation without further consequences. But it had to open it again last December, when the anti-corruption watchdog organisation Transparency International presented a new claim against the five African heads of government.
And yet, few observers believe that the complaints will ever lead to judgments or sanctions against the African leaders. As the daily newspaper Le Monde put it recently, "three of the five governments concerned enjoy the unshakeable support of French president Nicolas Sarkozy".
Another proof of this support: Jean-Marie Bockel, former French deputy minister for international cooperation, who in Jan 2008 had dared to publicly speak of the "squandering of African resources" by African heads of state, was soon after removed from office.
In his book, Pean claims that Bongo and Sassou Nguesso complained to Kouchner about these "unobliging" remarks. Now Bockel is deputy minister in charge of French war veterans at the ministry of defence.