According to evidence presented to the United Kingdom Parliament's International Development Committee by the UK Department for International Development, GBP 115,000 in the Joshua Dariye case and GBP 185,000 in Mr. Dariye's associate Joyce Oyebanjo's case have been returned to Nigeria. (Source: UK Parliament, International Development Committee, "Supplementary written evidence submitted by The Department for International Development (DFID)," June 2012.)
Ms. Oyebanjo had been arrested by the London Metropolitan Police in 2004 and subsequently convicted of assisting Chief Dariye to retain the benefits of criminal conduct contrary to section 93A(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. (Sources: Nigeria v. Dariye, Claim no. HC 07-C00169 filed January 25, 2007 in the UK High Court of Justice Chancery Division; UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Press Release, "UK Returns Stolen Funds to Nigeria," April 24, 2009; Transparency International UK, "Combating Money Laundering and Recovering Looted Gains: Raising the UK's Game," Appendix 1: Summaries of Recent Criminal and Civil Cases against Politically Exposed Persons in the UK, June 2009.)
According to the website of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Dariye's trial in Nigeria was contined to October 2010. (Source: Economic & Financial Crimes Commission, "EFCC On-Going High Profile Cases," 2007-2010)
According to the January 25, 2007 Particulars of Claim filed by the Government of Nigeria in its UK civil claim against Mr. Dariye, on September 2, 2004, Mr. Dariye was arrested and interviewed by the Metropolitan Police in London. After he failed to answer Police bail on December 14, 2004 and returned to Nigeria, a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of money laundering and obtaining services by deception. (Source: Nigeria v. Dariye, Claim No. HC07-00169, High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)
The prosecuting authority/civil attorney(s) was the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The court involved was the FTC High Court - Gudu.
In the jurisdiction of asset recovery (United Kingdom), the investigative agency was the Metropolitan Police.
The prosecuting authority/civil attorney(s) was Crown Prosecution Service.
The court involved was the Southwark Crown Court.
The contributing factors in this case were the UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office stated that the "The return of [Dariye/Oyebanjo -related] assets fulfils the UK's commitments under Chapter V of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and is the result of continued co-operation with the Nigerian authorities." (Source: UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Press Release, "UK Returns Stolen Funds to Nigeria," April 24, 2009.).
Assets returned
| Document Title | Size and Format | Document Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link | Government report / press release | Go to site | |
| Link | International/multilateral organization report | Go to site | |
| Dariye UK FRN v Dariye & Dariye Approved Judgment March 12 2007 | 166.7 KB pdf | Court document | Download |