A United States Federal Judge has approved the Department of Justice’s forfeiture order request on the Maryland residential property of Chief Diepreye Solomon Peters Alamieyeseigha, a former Governor of oil rich Bayelsa State.
The home located in Rockville, a suburb of Washington, D.C. was allegedly acquired by the politician using a shell company identified as Solomon & Peters Limited, according to court filings by the USDOJ.
The seizure of the residential property valued at $700, 000 was executed on Friday, according to a news report in the Wall Street Journal, after U.S district judge Roger W. Titus granted the Justice Department’s motion for default judgement against the property.
The USDOJ accused Alamieyeseigha of acquiring the property with bribes he received from contractors doing projects in Bayelsa State during his tenure as Governor of the state.
Alamieyeseigha, who was granted a state pardon recently by President Goodluck Jonathan denied the charge in court filings.
The forfeiture is part of a fledgling Justice Department initiative dedicated to seeking out assets in the US linked to high-level foreign corruption. Last year, a federal district judge in Massachusetts granted a motion for default judgment and civil forfeiture on a $401,931 Massachusetts brokerage fund that allegedly belonged to Alamieyeseigha.
“Foreign officials who think they can use the United States as a stash-house are sorely mistaken. 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,” acting assistant Attorney-General Mythili Raman said in a news release.
Source:THEWILL
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