PanamaPapers

The Civil Society Network Against Corruption, CSNAC, has sent a Freedom of Information, FOI, request to the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, for an update on the bureau’s investigations of allegations of corruption against some public office holders in Nigeria.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Olanrewaju Suraj, CSNAC said the request was in respect of revelations in the #Panama Papers published by PREMIUM TIMES, which raised grave allegations of dubious wealth by past and present leaders of Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported its findings from a series of investigations, following massive leak of files belonging to Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in Panama, Central America.

“In line with the revelations of the present and past Nigerian officials exposed in the Panama Papers scandal of illegally operating secret companies in tax havens, you, the Chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, Mr. Sam Saba, confirmed the Presidency’s directive, forwarding names of certain persons mentioned in the Panama Papers leak to your agency for necessary investigation.

“Premium Times had revealed Senate President, Bukola Saraki, having four assets listed in the secret offshore accounts carrying his name, but the embattled senate president had allegedly failed to disclose them in his assets declaration forms, in violation of Nigeria’s Code of Conduct law. One of the companies in his wife’s name, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, in Seychelles Island is Sandon Development Limited, a vehicle used in acquiring a property on 8 Whittaker Street, Belgravia, London, in 2012.

“Another shareholder listed for that company is Babatunde Morakinyo, a long-term personal aide and friend of Mr. Saraki. Premium Times confirmed that the assets actually belong to Mr. Saraki, and not his wife, as Mrs. Saraki and Mr. Morakinyo were mere fronts and nominee directors holding assets in trust for the Senate President.

“Similarly, it was disclosed how former Senate President, David Mark, has links with eight offshore companies in British Virgin Island as shown by the leaked database of Mossack Fonseca. The database showed Mr. Mark as one of Nigeria’s most extensive users of offshore shell companies, while serving as a public official. These companies includes Sikera Overseas S.A, Colsan Enterprises Limited, Goldwin Transworld Limited, Hartland Estates Limited, Marlin Holdings Limited, Medley Holdings Limited, Quetta Properties Limited, and Centenary Holdings Limited,” CSNAC said in its statement.

The Panama Papers also revealed Mr. Mark had to send documents across to Mossack Fonseca to prove that he was clean.