The houses situated at 7 and 8 Whittaker Street, Belgravia, London are said to be up for investigation under Britain’s new law, Unexplained Wealth Orders.
Two houses in London suspected to be owned by Nigerian Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki of the 8th National Assembly are under investigation.
The houses situated at 7 and 8 Whittaker Street, Belgravia, London are said to be up for investigation under Britain’s new law, Unexplained Wealth Orders, which became effective on Wednesday, January 31, 2018.
According to Transparency International UK, the two house were listed in Land Registry documents as being owned by Landfield International Developments Limited and Renocon Property Development Limited.
The controversial properties
The two London houses suspected to be properties of Senator Saraki are described by UK leading property outfit, Zoopla as choice properties.
Based on current market estimates by Zoopla, the properties are worth a combined total of around £15 million.
According to the property outfit website, 7 Whittaker Street, is a terraced house, Freehold, 4 Bedrooms, 5 Bathrooms and 2 Receps while 8 Whittaker Street, is a terraced house with share of freehold, 4 Bedrooms, 5 Bathrooms and 2 Receps.
It was further noted that the value range for the houses is between £8,211,000 - £9,914,000 each while rental goes for between £29,000 - £35,150 pcm.
The Saraki connection
Though the Senate President's name didn't appear as the owners of the properties on the UK Land Registry documents but the companies that own the properties are controlled by the Sarakis.
According to data released as part of the Panama Papers, Landfield International Developments Limited and Renocon Property Development Limited were controlled by former First Lady of Kwara state and wife of the Senate President, Toyin Saraki and one of the Senator's personal aides.
However, none of these offshore holdings were reported in Saraki’s official asset declarations with the Senate President insisting he had declared all his assets correctly and in accordance with Nigerian legislation.
Saraki had been charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2015 for false assets declaration when he was Kwara state governor.
The Senate President was cleared of all charges with the panel citing the prosecution's failure to prove the allegations.
Other Assets owned by world leaders listed for probe in UK
Aside the two houses on Whittaker street, other assets have been listed for probe by Transparency International.
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A £18m property at Kenwood Gate, Hampstead, owned by the First Family of Azerbaijan,
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Flats 138A and 138B at 4 Whitehall Court, London, valued at £11.4million and linked with Igor Shuvalov, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister
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A £1m property in Guildford linked with Ahmed Mahmoud Azwai, former Libyan Major General
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Two apartments at Park Lane, said to be owned by former Pakistani prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.
What is Unexplained Wealth Orders UWOs?
As explained by the Britain law, the Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) are a new investigative power designed to help law enforcement act on corrupt assets.
The Orders, are particularly useful where there is no realistic prospect of cooperation or conviction in the country of origin, but there are sufficient grounds for suspicion that an asset has been acquired with the proceeds of corruption.
After an application from an enforcement authority[1], a high court judge can give notice of a UWO only if she is satisfied that the respondent is likely to be the owner of suspicious wealth beyond his means, and if all of the following tests are met:
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The respondent is a Politically Exposed Person[2] (PEP) outside of the EEA; or there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the respondent is or has been involved in serious crime
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The respondent’s known income is insufficient to obtain the asset
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The value of the asset is greater than £50,000
The UWO requires the respondent to explain how he lawfully acquired his assets. If he fails to respond or gives an inadequate response then this extra information can be used in a separate civil recovery process (an existing measure under the Proceeds of Crime Act) if law enforcement has gathered sufficient evidence.
Ben Wallace, Security and Economic Crime Minister said the U.K. estimates that around £90 billion ($127 billion, 102 billion euros) of illegal funds are laundered through Britain every year.
The minister further noted that officials will use the new unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) to seize suspicious assets and hold them until they have been properly accounted for.
This Post First Appeared On Newssplashy | Latest Nigerian News Online
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