UK court rejects Ibori’s appeal to reduce £101.5m asset confiscation order

The Court of Appeal in London has dismissed an appeal by former Delta State Governor James Ibori to reduce a £101.5 million confiscation order imposed after his conviction for fraud and money laundering.

The court rejected Ibori’s challenge on Tuesday, November 3, Reuters reported. He had sought to reduce the amount by about £4.3 million ($5.8 million). Southwark Crown Court issued the order in July 2023, directing him to pay immediately or face an eight-year prison term in default.

The appeal had delayed enforcement of the order. The confiscation process can now move forward unless Ibori challenges the ruling at the UK Supreme Court. Speaking to Reuters after the decision, Ibori said he was consulting his lawyers about his next steps. He expressed frustration at the length of the proceedings, adding: “Give me a break.”

Ibori governed Delta State from 1999 to 2007. He left Nigeria for Dubai and was extradited to Britain in 2011. A UK court convicted him in 2012 after he pleaded guilty to laundering tens of millions of dollars in public funds through British banks and properties. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison and released in late 2016 after serving about half of that term, including time spent in custody before and after his trial. He returned to Nigeria in early 2017.

The confiscation proceedings followed investigations by Nigerian and British anti-corruption authorities. In 2020, British prosecutors began proceedings to recover properties worth about £117 million linked to Ibori. In July 2023, Judge David Tomlinson ordered the confiscation of £101.5 million, citing the court’s findings about assets traced to the former governor. Ibori said at the time that the ruling was difficult to comprehend and accept. He argued that prosecutors had failed to establish that money had been stolen from Delta State and accused the judge of disregarding evidence and arguments presented by his lawyers.

He also challenged the requirement to pay immediately, saying it could take several months to sell the assets under restraint. He said the eight-year default sentence could become an issue if the sale proceeds fell short of the amount ordered. In 2021, the British government returned £4.2 million recovered from Ibori’s former wife and sister to Nigeria under a memorandum of understanding the two countries signed in March of that year.