US Goverment freezes $458 millions stolen By sanni Abacha.+ he was called one of the most notorious kleptocrats in Nigeria.

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
local authorities.


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.

"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," she said.

The 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."

Raman said that the action sent a "clear message" that the United
States was "determined and equipped to confiscate the ill-gotten
riches of corrupt leaders who drain the resources of their countries."
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