A FORMER Pinner resident and Nigerian state governor has admitted embezzling millions of US dollars of public funds from the oil rich state.
James Ibori, 49, lived on Nower Hill with his wife, Theresa Ibori, in the late 1980s while he worked at a hardware shop in Ruislip earning just £5000 a year.
In the early 1990s the family moved back to Nigeria where Mr Ibori worked his way up the ruling People's Democratic Party and was elected Delta State governor in 1999 and siphoned off an estimated $250 million of state funds and used the money for personal luxuries.
An investigation was launched in 2005 but as he was still an elected official under Nigerian law he was immune from prosecution.
Mr Ibori appeared at Southwark Crown Court on February 27 and admitted the 10 charges against him relating to conspiracy to launder funds from Delta State, substantive counts of money laundering and one count of obtaining a money transfer by deception and fraud.
His wife, Theresa Ibori, 44, was found guilty of two counts of money laundering In November 2010 and found not guilty of three offences of money laundering and has been sentenced to five years imprisonment and was subject to a confiscation order for £5.1 million.
The investigation was conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service's Proceeds of Corruption Unit, which is funded by the Department of International Development and he was first arrested in December 2007 after a London court froze UK assets worth £35 million allegedly belonging to him.
His annual salary was less than $25,000.
It is believed he owned houses in Hampstead, Dorset and South Africa as well as a fleet of luxury cars after he systematically stole from state funds during his two four year terms and secreted the money in bank accounts across the world aided by his sister, wife and mistress and a group of corrupt professionals.
The corrupt official's sister Christine Omatie Ibori-Ibie, 53, of Woodhill Crescent, Kenton, Harrow, was found guilty in June 2010 of four counts of money laundering and five counts of obtaining money transfers by deception and was sentenced to five years in prison.
International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said: "Corruption is a cancer in developing countries and the Coalition Government has a zero tolerance approach to it. No British aid was compromised, but James Ibori's crimes have had a devastating effect on the lives of his fellow Nigerians. The millions he stole were meant to help them, but they were left to struggle in poverty as he lived in luxury."
The former Pinner resident has been remanded in custody until sentencing at a later date.
