- Claims He’s Not On U.S Watch List For Financial Crime
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has reacted to investigative findings which revealed how the U.S Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) flagged some transactions linked to him, describing them as suspicious.
FinCEN is an agency of the U.S Department of Treasury, saddled with the onerous responsibility of monitoring money movement within the international financial system.
Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) from more than 100 news room around the world, including Premium Times in Nigeria, have been poring on the FinCEN files since they were unearthed.
The files included a large number of suspicious-activity reports, SARs, filed by banks and other financial institutions to the US Government as required by the Bank Secrecy Act., with the total amount in suspicious transactions reported being $2 trillion ($2, 099584, 477,415.49).
In Atiku’s case, The New Diplomat earlier reported that one of the files linked him to a $1,018,500 wire transfer on March 5, 2012, flagged in daily monitoring by Habib Bank Limited New York, HBLNY.
The transfer originated from Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria (GTCN) Limited with the beneficiary being Tanjay Real Estate Brokers, a company which held a Habib Bank Limited Dubai account.
GTCN is a trust corporation incorporated in Nigeria in 2003, to hold Atiku’s stake in INTELS Nigeria Limited while he was Nigeria’s number two man.
The revelations by FinCEN further placed Abubakar and his family members under fresh international scrutiny. They have been under international radar before now, having been linked to some alleged shady deals, including links to persons indicted for wire fraud in the US.
Almost 24 hours after the report hit the news, Atiku on Tuesday reacted to the revelations as reported by the local and international media, denying any wrongdoing.
In a statement, Atiku’s media adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, said neither Atiku nor his wives were under any surveillance as they have not breached any laws.
Ibe also dismissed the reports, saying they’re “recycled and regurgitated lies” about the person of Atiku Abubakar.
In Atiku’s defence, Ibe said: “My attention has been drawn to recycled and regurgitated lies about the person of Atiku Abubakar.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku Abubakar is not under any US watch list, neither has he been charged, or will ever be charged by the United States Justice Department or any other in a foreign jurisdiction.
“It will be recalled that these recycled lies were re-unearthed just before the February 23, 2019 Presidential election, and to put paid to them, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, applied for and received a US visa, whereupon he embarked on a visit to the United States on January 17, 2019. He stayed at a hotel just miles to the United States Department of Justice.
“Atiku Abubakar in the course of that trip was also received in audience, by officials of the United States Government.
“These ‘new’ reports are a desperate gambit to recast these discredited accusations. They are meant to divert the attention of Nigerians from the recent statement by the Secretary of State of the United States, Mr Mike Pompeo, announcing visa and travel bans for certain unnamed but notorious individuals.
“Moreover, the timing of this report, less than 24 hours after the Edo state gubernatorial elections, should give some thought to thinking people.
“And considering the season that we are in, more of such jaundiced stories seeking to discredit Atiku Abubakar would come.
“However, it needs to be reiterated that the former Vice President and every member of his family keeps a clean business portfolio that has nothing to do with government resources and in conformity with local and foreign laws of respective countries”.
