Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has debunked accusations of financial improprieties linked to him by the U.S senate in 2010.
The Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate insinuated the allegations against him are mere rumours.
He revealed this through the spokesman of the Atiku Campaign Organisation, Segun Sowunmi while speaking on a TV show – Sunrise Daily on Channels TV today, 12th of October, 2018.
“The United States Senate has a very big idea that every rumour must be investigated and they also have following on investigation, an idea that justice must be done if errors have happened. Had anything been proven, it will not be left in the realm of conjecture” he said.
He went on to explain that the U.S Special Investigative Committee conducted investigations on many issues regarding international money transfers due to the prevalent spate of terrorism then. He further said Atiku was investigated at that time because the Americans were suspecting Muslim individuals moving money in the country because of terrorism financing. He concluded that the investigation later failed to indict Atiku.
“To their (U.S Senate) own surprise, they later found out that there was so such thing (terrorism financing) around that (Atiku’s financial transactions) …What was happening that in a bid to pay the faculty leaders of the American University, money was moving here and there to pay them and some of these monies which are obviously coming in for those university and facilities were monies he was looking for from some of his investments all over. The money wasn’t stacked up in one account and he was just throwing it there. No! He was looking for the money, if he makes a bit of money in one business, he puts it there” he added.
One the Siemens bribery scandal, he also said:
“The business ethics of nations are different; what they say they gave or didn’t give to a wife or a girlfriend or a sister or a cousin of anybody cannot be directly traced to me. It’s like saying that someone said he gave me money and just because I’m friendly with Ajuri (the interviewer), I got the bribe on behalf of Ajuri, that is caca.”
It would be recalled that Atiku’s fourth wife, Jennifer Douglas who was living in Washington DC in the United States of America reportedly received $40 million from offshore shares accounts into U.S banks between the year 2000 and 2008.
Specific allegations say that $2 million was paid by telephone company, Siemens to Atiku’s wife, Jennifer Douglas on behalf of Atiku while he was the Vice President of Nigeria.
Siemens has admitted to paying the bribe to Atiku for the purpose of influencing the allocation of a moneyed contract in Nigeria to the company.
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