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How Nigeria Recovered $9.1B In Stolen Public Assets In One Year

How Nigeria Recovered $9.1B In Stolen Public Assets In One Year

The Nigerian government recovered 9.1 billion in stolen money and assets over the last one year in a corruption crackdown blessed by the country’s top office, Information and Cultures minister said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the West African nation said will repatriate over $300 million in cash stashed in foreign banks abroad. Most of these money is in Switzerland.

Most of the money was voluntarily returned by former government officials who sought forgiveness or a plea bargain with the country’s federal government.

The identities of those accused of looting public funds was however not disclosed in the interim report released on Saturday.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who was elected largely based on his promise to recover huge sums of money and assets stolen from Nigeria, has made a crackdown on corruption his top priority since entering government in Mach 2015.

“All these are monies recovered from individuals and entities who had either hidden, stolen, diverted or were in possession of monies belonging to the nation,” Special Adviser to the country’s Information Minister, Segun Adeyemi, told Reuters.

“These recovered funds include monies withheld by past government officials, monies kept in private accounts, monies diverted to private pockets and monies in possession of government officials not disclosed after leaving government.”

According to Leadership, Nigeria is expecting to receive $321 million Switzerland, £6.9 million from the United Kingdom, $310,501 and €11,826.11 from the United Arab Emirates and $6,225.1 from the United States of America.

The country also recovered 22 farmlands, four plots of land, one uncompleted building, 33 completed buildings, 22 vehicles, 145 completed buildings, three vehicles and five maritime vehicles.

It also recovered four completed buildings according to the data given by the federal government.

In August 2015, President Buhari ordered government ministers to use only bank accounts approved by the government to make payments.

Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in years, caused by the sharp decline in global oil prices. This has made the need to recover lost money more urgent, with crude sales in the country accounting for 70% of the national income.