The President-elect, Bola Tinubu; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; a former Osun State governor, Gboyega Oyetola, and an associate, Oladipo Eludoyin, have been allegedly linked to 20 properties bought in the United Kingdom when Tinubu was serving as Lagos State governor.
According to an investigative report published on Friday, May 5, by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), “Tinubu, whose victory in February is being challenged in court, has been keeping part of his wealth in the United Kingdom, where he and his close associates own at least 20 properties that were mostly acquired when Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State.”
The report also states that “OCCRP has uncovered more than a dozen other properties with links to Tinubu. Tinubu’s spokesman did not respond to email and text messages seeking comment.”
The OCCRP is a global network of investigative journalists with staff members on six continents, Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and Australia, whose main agenda is exposing corruption and preventing crime.
A Bloomberg investigation had earlier reported that Seyi, Tinubu’s son, is the main shareholder of Aranda Overseas Corp., an offshore company he used in purchasing a $10.8 million property under probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Regarding the recent exposé, the OCCRP report reads, “OCCRP has uncovered more than a dozen other properties with links to Tinubu. Tinubu’s spokesman did not respond to email and text messages seeking comment.”
The report states that “Tinubu was forced to forfeit $460,000 to the U.S. government in 1993 as proceeds of narcotics trafficking, according to the ruling of a U.S. District Court in Illinois.”
The OCCRP added that Eludoyin, Tinubu’s long-term associate and a director of Aranda Overseas Corp., is the beneficial owner of 17 UK properties through three offshore companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. The organization notes that “Eludoyin’s properties were purchased between 2004 and 2007 when Tinubu was governor of Lagos State. He also did not respond to a request for comment.”
The OCCRP report also revealed that “Fashola also signed and presented the allotment of shares of Aranda Resources Limited to Nigeria’s corporate registry in December 2001. Fashola’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.”
Furthermore, “Sanwo-Olu was a director in Aranda Resources Limited until 26 days before his first day in office as governor in May 2019. His spokesperson also did not respond to requests for comment,” the report stated.
The report also revealed that Tinubu’s connection to Abeeb Holdings Limited has been revealed, thanks to the Register of Overseas Entities, a new measure designed by the UK to reveal the true owners of offshore firms that hold property in the country. “However, about a year later, Abeeb Holdings Limited, an offshore company registered in Gibraltar with Tinubu as the beneficial owner, bought Flat 9 at 96-100 New Cavendish Street in London.”
This report comes amid the ongoing probe into Tinubu’s financial dealings, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission currently investigating allegations of money laundering against him.
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