COURT GRANTS FINAL FORFEITURE OF $40 MILLION JEWELLERY TRACE TO DIEZANI ALISON-MADUEKE

“The respondent filed affidavit to set aside instead of showing cause. In showing cause, the respondent ought to place before the court sufficient evidence that the property is not a proceed of unlawful activities. I am of the view that the respondent failed to show cause why the property should not be forfeited therefore I am granting the application, the judge declared”

Penpushing further reports that, the accused counsel, Awa Kalu had argued that “there is no professional evaluation to determine the true value of the property, there is no proof that it was acquired when she was a Minister, no proof they were purchased using proceeds of fraud.”

The lawyer while addressing journalists after the ruling, said the judgment was delivered on the basis of technicalities and not facts, adding, “the judge gave the ruling based on the fact that we had not approached the matter the way he felt we should have’.

‘It’s not as if we didn’t show cause but it’s all on our approach. I am yet to brief my superiors or our clients, but I can assure you that the judgment was based on technicalities only,”

Penpushing recalled that, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC had last month secured an interim forfeiture of several pieces of jewellery comprising bangles, earrings, and wristwatches were recovered from houses traced  to Alison-Madueke and valued at $40 million.

The crime commission said the items are “reasonably suspected to have been acquired with and or represent proceeds of the respondent’s unlawful activities.”

Meanwhile, the former Minister, said  to be in the United Kingdom where she is also being investigated for money laundering, is back home facing multiple charges of money laundering before Federal Courts in Lagos and Abuja.