Post by anenro on Sept 3, 2019 15:39:17 GMT 4
Ex-Goldman Sachs banker told to pay back 7.3 million or face jail
A former Goldman Sachs banker who helped a corrupt Nigerian politician hide a fortune in offshore accounts has been ordered to pay back £7.3m or face 10 years more in jail.
Ellias Preko, 60, used his ‘gold-plated credentials’ to launder at least £3m plundered by James Ibori, the former governor of Africa’s oil-rich Delta State.
Preko, a Ghanaian national and Harvard graduate, used his ‘expertise and veneer of respectability’ to flush the dirty money out of Nigeria.
He was jailed for four and a half years back in 2013 for his role in the scheme.
Judge David Tomlison ordered Preko to pay back £7,324.268.41 following a confiscation hearing.
Preko has three months to repay the money or face another 10 years in jail.
Ibori, a former DIY store cashier prior his rise into politics, was jailed for 13 years in 2012 after he admitted stealing state funds during an eight-year term of office.
The court heard how he pocketed up to £160 million from government treasuries, depriving some of the world’s poorest people of the cash.
Preko, who represented himself, told the court in a previous hearing much of the cash had been spent on election campaigning back in his native Ghana.
He said he had run as a candidate for the center-right NPP party back in the mid-2000s.
Preko explained that Ghana is predominantly a cash-based society and that few receipts exist for his campaign spending.
‘Most of the expenses are not receipted,’ he said. ‘Ghanaian political activities are not financed by the state,’ he added.
A former Goldman Sachs banker who helped a corrupt Nigerian politician hide a fortune in offshore accounts has been ordered to pay back £7.3m or face 10 years more in jail.
Ellias Preko, 60, used his ‘gold-plated credentials’ to launder at least £3m plundered by James Ibori, the former governor of Africa’s oil-rich Delta State.
Preko, a Ghanaian national and Harvard graduate, used his ‘expertise and veneer of respectability’ to flush the dirty money out of Nigeria.
He was jailed for four and a half years back in 2013 for his role in the scheme.
Judge David Tomlison ordered Preko to pay back £7,324.268.41 following a confiscation hearing.
Preko has three months to repay the money or face another 10 years in jail.
Ibori, a former DIY store cashier prior his rise into politics, was jailed for 13 years in 2012 after he admitted stealing state funds during an eight-year term of office.
The court heard how he pocketed up to £160 million from government treasuries, depriving some of the world’s poorest people of the cash.
Preko, who represented himself, told the court in a previous hearing much of the cash had been spent on election campaigning back in his native Ghana.
He said he had run as a candidate for the center-right NPP party back in the mid-2000s.
Preko explained that Ghana is predominantly a cash-based society and that few receipts exist for his campaign spending.
‘Most of the expenses are not receipted,’ he said. ‘Ghanaian political activities are not financed by the state,’ he added.