The story of a man who went from cashier to state governor

Apr 17, 2012 09:09 GMT  ·  By

A Nigerian man called James Ibori is about to be sentenced by a United Kingdom court after pleading guilty to money laundering, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to make false instrument, and other fraud-related charges.

According to The Telegraph, Ibori may be 49, or 53 (judging by the date of birth he used in Nigeria), and he’s believed to be the mastermind of a scheme that earned him $250 million (190 million EUR).

Until now, the man admitted to share fraud that totals only around a third of the estimated sum, that is to say $79 million (60 million EUR).

While the amounts of money are fabulous, Ibori’s story is even more so.

The fraudster started out as a cashier at Wickes. After being convicted for theft twice, he moved to Nigeria where he managed to fool officials and regular citizens into naming him governor of the Delta state.

“Mr Ibori tricked his way into public office. He had tricked the Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian voters. He was thus never the legitimate governor of Delta state,” prosecutor Sasha Wass said.

Once he found himself on the top of the pyramid, the con artist started spending enormous amounts of money, obtained from Delta’s citizens, on luxury items. Furthermore, at the time he was apprehended, he was trying to purchase an airplane worth around $30 million (24 million EUR).

Due to his influence, Nigerian authorities couldn’t bring him down. However, because of the many fraudulent transactions that took place on UK soil, British authorities managed to extradite and charge him for his crimes.

Ibori’s wife, along with his sister, solicitor, and even his mistress, were also convicted of money laundering. Ibori himself will be sentenced today.

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