Video clip shows Ibori’s opulent lifestyle AS the hearing of the case on confiscation of assets of former Delta State Governor James Ibori entered its third day at Southwark Crown Court, the prosecutors presented a video clip that showed his opulent lifestyle Wednesday. After getting permission from the judge, Sasha Wass opened the prosecution’s submission with a video clip of about 20 minutes that showed how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ransacked the mansion of the former governor at Clement Isong Street, Abuja. But while the prosecution further reiterated its argument that Ibori did benefit according to the sum for which he pleaded guilty and for which he was subsequently jailed for 13 years, defence counsel, Ivan Krolick, cross-examined the prosecution witness, Detective Peter Clark, for about two hours. Although all the defence can do in a confiscation of assets hearing is just to try to limit what the Crown can legally take from a convict, Krolick actually brought some cheer to the corner where Ibori’s supporters sat in Courtroom 14, as he occasionally made Clark look as if he didn’t do a thorough job of investigating his client’s finances. In the first half of the day’s proceeding, Wass and Clark further established how Ibori and his other partners in crime used sophisticated means of concealing the multi-million pounds worth of assets acquired by the jailed governor. In the video clip for instance, about seven EFCC operatives ransacked Ibori’s mansion and pulled out numerous deposit slips used to make cash deposits at the now defunct Oceanic Bank. The video revealed Ibori’s taste for luxury, including a private gym that consisted of a treadmill. However, Krolick made a big point of trying to portray Ibori as a businessman and one who made a couple of millions before becoming Delta State governor in 1999. He cited one instance that Ibori did consultancy services for a United States’ (U.S.) company and got over a million pounds in 1998. He also cited entries in his financial statements which showed that Ibori had a company, Alcac Nigeria Ltd, and the company had records of paying over N3 million to the Customs in one instance and over N2 million for shipping on another occasion. But Wass and Clark faulted this argument, telling the court that when Ibori was asked to explain the source of his wealth, he gave no explanation. Wass also argued that irrespective of whether Ibori had two boat houses which he rented to Chevron and Shell on top of his trading activities before becoming Delta State governor, “it has always been the Crown’s case that Mr. Ibori engaged in fraudulent activities and that even if he got $1.5 million for consultancy services in 1998, it couldn’t have funded his post-1999 lifestyle.”
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 01:53:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015