Nigerian officials linked to millions laundered through US property, report

A report by an African anti-corruption group alleges that dozens of Nigerian officials laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through property purchases in the United States over more than two decades.

The investigation by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) identified 284 US properties worth about $271m that it says are linked to 61 current and former senior Nigerian officials.

Corruption is endemic in Nigeria, one of Africa's largest economies and its top oil producer.

The report's findings thrust graft back into the spotlight months before January's presidential election, which economic hardships and growing insecurity will define.

Since coming to office in 2023, President Bola Tinubu, who will seek re-election, declared war on graft but high-profile corruption trials are grinding slowly through the courts.

In the report, the investigative NGO Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) lists "284 United States properties" collectively worth around $271 million and "linked to 61 current and former high-level Nigerian officials".

The investigation, which examined properties acquired since the end of military rule in 1999, also alleged the war against jihadists continues to enrich the "military elites".

More than half of the properties were bought by the officials during tenure "at precisely the moment when their access to state resources and influence was greatest".

The report examined 61 individuals.

A total 39 of them have already been "publicly accused, indicted, or sentenced for corruption", said the non-profit organisation, which specialises in protecting whistleblowers in Africa.

- 'Tip of the iceberg' -

Most of the properties were bought without mortgage financing, raising "red flags for money laundering";

But international cooperation that should enable seizure of such assets "remains limited", said PPLAAF.

Nigeria is Washington's second-largest African trading partner after South Africa and Nigerians in the United States form the largest African diaspora.

Among the officials PPLAAF identified were lawmakers and officials from state governments and security agencies.

The largest number of properties were found to have been bought by officials from the security sector.

"The scale of defence and security spending has created continued opportunities for opaque contracting," it said.

"The fight against (jihadists) Boko Haram has... generated enormous security and defence expenditures, creating opportunities for opaque procurement practices".

The report names several senior officials already facing charges, including one accused of buying around 20 US properties.

"The properties identified in this report are just the tip of the iceberg and represent more than financial wrongdoing.

"They represent schools not built, hospitals not staffed and a power grid that cannot keep the lights on, the daily, material cost of corruption borne for decades by ordinary Nigerians," it said.

The country's ani-graft agency EFCC did not respond to AFP's request for comment.

Presidential spokesman Daniel Bwala responded by saying: "We support all war against corruption and collaborate with the US government in that endeavour."

The report "Dirty Deeds: How Top Nigerian Officials Bought a Piece of America", said the "US has emerged as an attractive destination for Nigerian real estate investments linked" to politically exposed persons.