According to the cache of documents obtained by Huhuonline, Abacha, Bagudu and others defrauded the Nigerian people using three principal fraudulent schemes – security vote fraud; debt buy-back fraud and outright extortion and kickbacks from public contracts. The security votes fraud began in January 1994, shortly after Abacha seized power. At Abacha’s direction, the NSA, Ismaila Gwarzo, prepared fake security votes letters and addressed them to General Abacha purporting to request millions of US dollars, British pounds, and Nigerian naira to address unidentified emergencies that threatened Nigeria’s national interests. Abacha then endorsed each letter with his signature and the fake letters were sent to CBN governor, Paul Ogwuma, for disbursement.
In one of the letters dated June 2, 1994, Gwarzo falsely stated: “In view of the on-going negative campaign against this country, small international operation has been mounted to cover it… approve as a matter of urgency, the sum of five million dollars…” In another letter, dated November 30, 1994, Gwarzo claimed: “million dollars are requested to combat an economy that was deflected and distorted through the black market.” In yet another one-page letter dated August 20, 1996, Gwarzo made the fallacious claim that: “In light of the current political situation in the country, coupled with the increase in security operations… is need for a lot of funds to handle the challenges outlined above such that I require three hundred and fifty million naira (N350, 000,000) plus thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) and fifteen million pounds (£15,000,000)… Consider desperate need and approve.”
After the funds were disbursed from the CBN, bank staff would deliver the cash to NSA Gwarzo at his residence. Gwarzo would then deliver the cash to Mohammed Abacha, who in turn, gave it to Bagudu, who arranged for the money to be transferred to accounts controlled by Bagudu and Mohammed Abacha in foreign countries. In order to move the money overseas, Bagudu deposited the cash into two Nigerian commercial banks, Union Bank and Inland Bank, claiming the money was his “cash swaps.”
To transfer the money overseas, the funds were transferred from Union Bank and Inland Bank back to the CBN, to accounts held by Union Bank and Inland Bank at the CBN. The CBN then transferred the funds from the accounts of the two commercial banks to their respective overseas domiciliary accounts held at banks in London or New York, controlled by Mohammed Abacha and Bagudu. Union Bank and Inland Bank were then instructed to transfer the stolen funds to other accounts under Bagudu or Mohammed Abacha’s control, such as accounts in the name of Mecosta, Rayville, Eagle Alliance and Standard Alliance accounts at Banque SBA, ANZ (London), and at Standard Bank.
Bagudu: the money-laundering kingpin
On October 10, 1995, Bagudu ordered the wire transfer of $5 million from an account at Union Bank Nigeria into and out of a correspondent account at Barclays Bank New York, into a correspondent account at ANZ (New York), for credit to the Eagle Alliance account at ANZ (London).
On November 5, 1995, Bagudu caused the wire transfer of $6 million from a domiciliary account of Union Bank Nigeria into and out of a correspondent account at Barclays Bank New York, and then into and out of a correspondent account at ANZ (New York), for credit to the Eagle Alliance account at ANZ (London). This $6 million was credited to the Eagle Alliance account.
On January 3, 1996, Bagudu caused the wire transfer of approximately $320,000 from Inland Bank of Nigeria into and out of a correspondent account at Morgan Guaranty Trust Bank, New York, and then into and out of a correspondent account at ANZ (New York), for credit to the Eagle Alliance account at ANZ (London).
Between August and November at least $7.2m was deposited by Bagudu into the Eagle Alliance account at ANZ (London) on behalf of Alhaji Ahmadu Daura, the Abacha family lawyer. These funds included monies withdrawn from the CBN in the form of cash and traveler’s checks. The monies were first deposited into accounts controlled by Alhaji Ahmadu Daura at London Trust Bank in Nigeria and then wired to the Eagle Alliance account at ANZ (London).
An additional $20m was wire transferred from Inland Bank Nigeria domiciliary account at Commerzbank AG in London, into and out of Credit Lyonnais, New York, for deposit into account number 223405880I held in the name of Rayville at Banque SBA in Paris. Daura was an Abacha associate who owned and operated the Sunshine Bureau de Change. He facilitated the transfer of the stolen monies out of Nigeria to accounts he controlled in England and then transferred the criminal proceeds into accounts controlled by the Abacha family.
On July 17, 1997, another $10 million from the security vote fraud was wire transferred from Inland Bank Nigeria domiciliary account at Commerzbank AG in London into and out of Credit Lyonnais, New York, for deposit into an account in the name of Harbour Engineering located at Banque SBA in Paris, whose designated signatory was Bagudu.
Between November 1997 and January 1998, $59 million from the security votes fraud were transferred into an account held in the name of Mecosta at Standard Bank in London. To erase evidence of the connection to Bagudu and Abacha, the $59 million was first transferred from Inland Bank Nigeria to the CBN; the CBN then credited the funds to an Inland Bank Nigeria domiciliary account at Citibank New York; Citibank New York transferred the money into a correspondent account at Barclays Bank, New York; and Barclays transferred the money into Mecosta’s account at Standard Bank controlled by Bagudu and Mohammed Abacha.
In the space of 24 hours the money had, on paper, traversed three continents, five banks and two companies, making the money all but untraceable in the process. There were plenty of reasons why Bagudu wanted the transaction disguised, not least of all because the money trail came uncomfortably close to Gen. Abacha. Over 60 fake security votes letters were sent to CBN governor, Paul Ogwuma, who complied with the request, even though it violated statutory laws and CBN procedures; as the disbursements were neither approved by the Minister of Finance nor by the Accountant-General, and were also not included in the budget for the relevant fiscal years.
The fake security letters came fast and furious: February 15, 1995 ($4m and £2m); July 8, 1995 ($5m, £2m and another £2m in travelers’ checks); Dec 29, 1995 ($5m); March 28, 1996 – Abacha requested $5m and £3m. CBN ran out of foreign currencies and paid only $3.801m; May 29, 1996 ($5m and £5m. CBN ran out of pound sterling and sent $12.5m); June 20, 1996 ($10m and £5m); Aug 20, 1996 ($30m and £15m); Sept 24, 1996 ($50m); Sept 30, 1996 ($50m and £3m); Oct 14, 1996 ($5m); Nov 11, 1996 ($5m and £3m); Feb 18, 1997 ($6m); Feb 28, 1997 ($3m); March 3, 1997 ($3.27m); March 6, 1997 ($1.21m); April 22, 1997 ($60m); April 28, 1997 ($60m and £30m); June 30, 1997 ($4.9m); July 9, 1997 ($5m and £2m); Aug 8, 1997 ($10m); Oct 18, 1997 ($12.3m); Oct 21, 1997 (£5.88m); Oct 23, 1997 (£14.76m); Oct 29, 1997 (£11.76m); Nov 14, 1997 ($10m); Nov 26, 1997 ($24m); Dec 10, 1997 ($24m) and Dec 18, 1997 (£6.15m).
The breakdown of the money stolen on each trip made to the CBN on his behalf as shown above would suggest that corruption, more than blood, ran through Abacha and Bagudu’s veins. The former NSA, Ismaila Gwarzo told the Special Investigation Panel, SIP, that he sent his special assistant to the bank between June 1996 and October 1997 to collect a total sum of $456 million and £232 million for Abacha in cash. The panel found that General Abacha and his coconspirators had used the false security vote letters to steal and defraud more than $2 billion in public funds, including: at least $1.1 billion and £413 million pounds sterling (GBP) in cash; and at least $50,456,450 and £3,500,000 GBP in traveler’s checks; and $386,290,169 through wire transfers.
