A
forfeiture judgment was executed today against real property with an estimated
value of more than $700,000 in Rockville, Md., that had been purchased with
corruption proceeds traceable to Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, a
former Governor of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, announced Acting Assistant Attorney
General Mythili Raman of the Criminal Division and U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton.
“Foreign
officials who think they can use the United States as a stash-house are sorely
mistaken,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman. “Through the Kleptocracy Initiative, we stand
with the victims of foreign official corruption as we seek to forfeit the
proceeds of corrupt leaders’ illegal activities.”
“This
investigation was initiated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Asset Identification & Removal Group (AIRG) in Baltimore, in an effort to
recover the criminal proceeds from Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha’s
assets, whose shell companies were convicted of money laundering offenses in
Nigeria,” said ICE Director Morton.
“HSI’s AIRG will continue working with the Department of Justice to seek
to recover illicit proceeds gained through foreign corruption and to protect
the U.S. financial system from being utilized by criminals.”