Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    SweetCrudeReportsSweetCrudeReports
    Subscribe
    • Home
    • Oil
    • Gas
    • Power
    • Solid Minerals
    • Labour
    • Financing
    • Freight
    • Community Development
    • E-Editions
    SweetCrudeReportsSweetCrudeReports
    Home » James Ibori jailed for 13 years

    James Ibori jailed for 13 years

    April 18, 2012
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

    18 April 2012, Sweetcrude, LONDON – Former governor of one of Nigeria’s richest oil-producing states has been jailed for 13 years after admitting fraud totalling nearly £50 million.

    James Ibori, former governor of Delta state, admitted 10 counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

    Southwark Crown Court was told the amount he stole from the people of Delta state was “unquantified”.

    Ibori, who evaded capture in Nigeria after a mob of supporters attacked police, was arrested in Dubai in 2010.

    He was extradited to the UK, where he was prosecuted based on evidence from the Metropolitan Police, who estimated he stole $250m (£160m) from state coffers.

    One of the counts Ibori admitted related to a $37m (£23m) fraud pertaining to the sale of Delta State’s share in Nigerian privatised phone company company V Mobile.

    He was governor of Delta State between May 1999 and May 2007.

    Sasha Wass, QC, prosecuting, told the court Ibori “deliberately and systematically” defrauded the people he was elected to represent.

    The court heard he came to the UK in the 1980s and worked as a cashier at a Wickes DIY store in Neasden, north west London.

    He was convicted in 1991 of stealing from the store but then returned to Nigeria and began his climb up the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) network.

    When he ran for governor he lied about his date of birth to hide his criminal conviction in the UK – which would have prevented him standing for office.

    Ibori, whose address was given as Primrose Hill, north London, claims to be 53 but police in London say he is 49.

    He became governor in 1999 but soon began taking money from state coffers.

    He bought:

    A house in Hampstead, north London, for £2.2m

    A property in Shaftesbury, Dorset, for £311,000

    A £3.2m mansion in Sandton, near Johannesburg, South Africa

    A fleet of armoured Range Rovers valued at £600,000

    A £120,000 Bentley

    A Mercedes Maybach for 407,000 euros that was shipped direct to his mansion in South Africa

    After the hearing, Sue Patten, head of the Crown Prosecution Service central fraud group, said it would bid to confiscate the assets Ibori had acquired his riches “at the expense of the some of the poorest people in the world”.

    International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said: “James Ibori’s sentence sends a strong and important message to those who seek to use Britain as a refuge for their crimes.

    “Corruption is a cancer in developing countries and the coalition government has a zero-tolerance approach to it.”

    Related News

    PHCCIMA, MAN partner to promote economic growth in Rivers, Bayelsa

    TCN inaugurates Performance Improvement Plan Committee to boost power supply

    Steelpaints combination 500 passes landmark FRP coating trials

    E-book
    Resilience Exhibition

    Latest News

    Oil falls nearly 4% as Iran’s retaliation focuses on regional US military basesOil falls nearly 4% as Iran’s retaliation focuses on regional US military bases

    June 23, 2025

    Trump tells everyone to keep oil prices down after Iran attacks

    June 23, 2025

    Golar LNG reaches crucial milestone for Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project

    June 23, 2025

    Empowering solutions for South Africa’s energy future

    June 23, 2025

    AEW 2025 promotes Africa-centric energy transition with dedicated program track

    June 23, 2025
    Demo
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Opec Daily Basket
    • Oil
    • Power
    • Gas
    • Freight
    • Financing
    • Labour
    • Technology
    • Solid Mineral
    • Conferences/Seminars
    • Community Development
    • Nigerian Content Initiative
    • Niger-Delta Question
    • Insurance
    • Other News
    • Focus
    • Feedback
    • Hanging Out With Markson

    Subscribe for Updates

    Get the latest energy news from Sweetcrudereports.

    Please wait...
    Please enter all required fields Click to hide
    Correct invalid entries Click to hide
    © 2025 Sweetcrudereports.
    • About Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy Policy

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.