United States has finally agreed to repatriate to Nigeria about $480million believed to have been stolen by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha and his family members.
Already, the conditions for the repatriation of the cash and other details are being worked out.
Also, it was learnt that the Department of Justice in the United States now has a Kleptocracy Unit, which assist to track looted funds and money laundered by public officials from Nigeria and other nations.
According to The Nation, the planned repatriation is the outcome of the meeting between President Buhari’s Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu the Department of Justice.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “This is the largest loot ever traced to a former Nigerian public officer in the US. The DOJ, the AGF and the EFCC have concluded all the talks; we are in the process of repatriation of the $480million.
“Although there are interventions from private lawyers, DOJ prefers a government-to-government deal. I can tell you that the funds will soon be repatriated. If there is anything left, it has to do with the conditions which the US will attach to the utilisation of the funds.
“The US is likely to advise on specific areas to spend the funds on and the project monitoring mechanisms. It does not want the cash re-looted.”