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The United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has lauded Nigeria’s doggedness in negotiating for the repatriated $52.88 million realised from the sale of the luxury real estate and the Galactica Star superyacht linked to former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Campbell spoke at a valedictory telephone conversation with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, according to a statement yesterday in Abuja by the minister’s media aide, Alkasim Abdulkadir.
The statement reads: “U.S Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has commended the Nigerian government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for its close collaboration in successfully repatriating funds linked to forfeited luxury real estate and the Galactica Star superyacht.
“During a valedictory telephone conversation with the Deputy Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, he made the commendation and thanked Tuggar and his team. The repatriation negotiations, he said, had made him a believer in the country. He further pledged the support and cooperation of the incoming Deputy Secretary of State.”
Tuggar thanked him for his dedication to the process and steadfast determination to bring the repatriation to fruition.
The call addressed bilateral issues between the two countries, such as leveraging technology to turn digital assets, like Binance, into mutually beneficial opportunities for Nigeria to become a hub of data mining, data storage and artificial intelligence.
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Tuggar said: “As energy producers, Nigeria’s robust gas energy transition plans, like the African Atlantic gas pipeline traversing 15 African countries, can provide the requisite energy supply for crypto players and data miners. This has great potential, and we are counting on our allies like the United States and Morocco.
“Truly, Nigeria and the United States are going back to basics, back to strong values, and this is something we can build upon.”
The repatriated funds will expand the distributed access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up project through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). The programme is intended to increase access to electricity services in the country.
The funds were forfeited to the United States as part of the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice. This marks a significant milestone in the ongoing collaboration between Nigeria and the United States to combat corruption and recover misappropriated assets.
Through court proceedings ending in 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s International Corruption Unit, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation successfully forfeited various high-value assets, including the superyacht Galactica Star and prime real estate in California and New York.
The forfeited assets had been illegally acquired with funds linked to money laundering and a conspiracy to Alison-Madueke.
Nigerian authorities played a vital role by providing substantial assistance to the U.S. investigation.
