Nigeria Secures $9.5m Corruption Loot as U.S. Bank Releases Funds for Abuja Mega Highway

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Nigeria has secured the return of over $9.5 million in corruption-linked funds after a U.S. bank holding the money in a Jersey account agreed to release the assets for an infrastructure project in the country.

The repatriation follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in December by Jersey’s Attorney General, Mark Temple KC, authorising the transfer of the funds to the Nigerian government. The agreement strengthens ongoing cooperation between Jersey and Nigeria, which has already resulted in the recovery of more than $300 million in illicit assets in previous deals.

In a landmark ruling in January 2024, Jersey’s Royal Court declared that the funds were “more likely than not” proceeds of corruption. The court found that third-party contractors had diverted Nigerian public funds to benefit senior government officials and their associates.
Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the recovered money would be deployed strictly in line with the MoU, stressing that the development sends a strong signal that there is no safe haven anywhere in the world for stolen public wealth.

According to the agreement, the funds will be channelled towards completing the final phases of a strategic highway linking Abuja with Nigeria’s second-largest city, a project described as a critical transport lifeline with major economic significance.
Jersey’s Attorney General noted that the successful repatriation highlights the effectiveness of the island’s civil forfeiture regime and its growing role in the global fight against corruption, transparency, and financial crime.