Alamieyeseigha was arrested at Heathrow Airport in September 2005 by the London Metropolitan Police on charges of money laundering in September 2005. About £1m cash was allegedly found in his London home. Another £1.8m ($3.2m) was found in his bank accounts. Rather than wait and clear his name at the trial, Alamieyeseigha escaped from London in December 2005 in a very dramatic manner. Some report had it that he disguised himself as a woman in his desperate bid to return to Nigeria.
But back home, while serving him an unexpected notice of impeachment, the Bayelsa State House of Assembly accused him of offences including:
*Maintaining foreign bank accounts while in office in the following banks: Barclays Bank Plc, London; National Westminster Bank, London; Royal Bank of Scotland; and Commerz Bank, London.
*Corrupt enrichment of his relatives and cronies.
*Criminal diversion and misappropriation of public funds to facilitate acquisition of shares in Bond Bank PLc by private placement.
*Purchase of Chelsea Hotel, Abuja for the sum of Two billion naira and;
*Acquisition of £ 10 Million worth of properties in London.
Following his instigation by the Probe panel constituted to examine his case, Alamieyeseigha got a damning report that sealed his fate as he was found to have:
*Brought the exalted office of the governor of Bayelsa State to disrepute, odium and ridicule by jumping a London bail and returning to Nigeria.
* Become an International fugitive as the Scotland Yard may issued a warrant of arrest against him which embarrassed the people of Bayelsa.
* By this ignominious conduct scandalized and embarrassed Bayelsans and indeed all Nigerians.
*Jeopardized the safety and besmirched the reputation of Nigerians living in or visiting The United Kingdom.
*Breached his oath to respect international law.
The Bayelsa State House of Assembly subsequently impeached him from office on December 8, 2005 after adopting the report of the seven-man impeachment panel set up by the Chief Justice of Bayelsa State, Emmanuel Igonarwari. He was found me guilty of gross misconduct.
Continuing his brush with the law, he was arrested by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), questioned, and charged with numerous money laundering and corruption offences.
These included six charges of making false declaration of assets, and 23 charges of money laundering by my company. On December 13, 2005, the Federal Government filed a fresh 17-count charge against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal sitting in Kaduna. He was accused of contrary to section 7 and punishable under section 23 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. Cap. 56 LFN 1990 as incorporated under paragraph 11, part 1, fifth schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, maintaining the following bank accounts, amongst other ones, while serving as Governor of Bayelsa State:
Account number 10659347 with Barclays Bank Plc, United Kingdom with a balance of GBP203,753.34 as at 15th February 2005;
Account number 3239940 with UBS Warburg AG, 1 Curzon Street, London, W1J 5HB with a balance of $2.5 million as at September 2005;
Account number 338931 in the name of FALCON INC. with UBS Warburg AG, 1 Curzon Street, London, W1J 5HB;
Account number 7341553/7341596 FOR us dollars with Barclays Bank Plc at International Banking Unit, 88 Dighemis Akritas Avenue 1644, Nicosla, Cyprus;
Account number 7341588 for GB pounds Sterling with Barclays Bank Plc at International Banking Unit, 88 Dighemis Akrltas Avenue 1644, Nicosia, Cyprus ;
Bank account number 5005220454-7 in Denmark with JYSKE Bank at Bseterbrogate, 9, DK-1780, Copeenhagen V with a balance of at $2.5 million;
Bank account number 005482562491 with Bank of America United States of America in the name of Peter Aklamleyeseigh with a balance of $160,000.00
He was also accused of falsely declaring his assets by refusing to declare the following properties upon his re-election in 2003:
1. Property known as Water Gardens, London W2 2DG which you bought at GBP1.75 million in the name of your company known as Solomon & Peters Ltd;
2. Property at 14 Mapesbury Road, London, NW2 4JB which you bought at GBP1.4 million;
3. Property at 14 Jubilee Heights, School Uphill, London, NW2 2UQ, which you bought at GBP241,000;
4. Property at No. 68-70, Regent’s Road, London, N3 bought at 3 million Pounds Sterling.
His acquisition, while being the Governor of Bayelsa State between 29th May 1999 and 9th December 2005, of the following properties, also brought him into conflict with the law at some point:
Chelsea Hotel Abuja worth of N2 Billion for which N1.5 Billion was paid;
Two block of luxury flats at Plot 26 Bashir Dalhatu Close, Abacha Estate, Ikoyi worth of N450m
Property at John Kadiya Street, off Jose Marti Crescent, Asokoro, Abuja worth N350; million;
Six luxury duplexes at No. 1 Community, Road, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos worth N200 million
On June 29, 2011, the US federal district judge in the state of Massachusetts ordered that he should forfeit the sum of N60m ($401,931) to the United States Government. Along with the sum, he lost a property he bought in the state of Maryland, valued at N90m ($600,000). And in February 2006, the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa secured a court order to confiscate his house at the Cape Town waterfront.
The last of his run in with the law was the sudden extradition request sent to the Federal Government of Nigeria by the United Kingdom on the premise that he has an outstanding case of money laundering to answer in that country.
Comments
Post a Comment