Ibori's London Lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, Pleads Guilty To V-Mobile Charges: British prosecutors scored a stunning, if unexpected, victory today when Bhadresh Gohil, a London-based lawyer of former Governor James Ibori, entered a guilty plea at the opening of a new trial involving the theft of V-Mobile shares in Nigeria.
(http://www.saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/page_images/news/2010/ibori_attah_0.jpg?1291644634)Victor Attah and James Ibori
Today's trial would be the second Ibori-related one for Mr. Gohil this year. Two weeks ago, the Southwark Court convicted Mr. Gohil on unrelated money-laundering charges in a trial that also involved Ibori's wife, Theresa Nkoyo Ibori. Mrs. Ibori was also convicted and is currently serving a five-year sentence in a London prison. The court deferred Mr. Gohil's sentencing until the conclusion of the trial that began today.
A London-based legal expert told Saharareporters that, in pleading guilty to the fresh eight-count charge, Mr. Gohil signaled his awareness that the UK Crown Prosecutor's case against him was airtight.
"Mr. Gohil's guilty plea is going to make it tougher, if not impossible, for Mr. Ibori to fend off the British government's request for his extradition from Dubai to face numerous money laundering charges in London," the expert added.
A UK court source told Saharareporters that they were as surprised as observers about Mr. Gohil 's guilty plea, but added, "the Crown Prosecution Service had done a meticulous job and expected to prevail even if the accused had chosen to mount a robust legal defense."
Today's trial was expected to last for three weeks, but Mr. Gohil told the court that he wanted to plead guilty. His motion for a guilty plea was accepted and recorded.
The legal expert told us that Mr. Bhadresh Gohil joins the rare company of the few UK lawyers to be convicted for money laundering.
Southwark Crown Court judge, Christopher Hardy, who once referred to Gohil as the "predicate offender" alongside Mr. Ibori – who is currently appealing a ruling for his extradition from Dubai to London – did not say much in today's court session.
In court today, two other accused, Lambertus De Boer and Daniel McCann, pleaded not guilty. British prosecutors accused Gohil of participating in the laundering of funds realized from the sale of V-Mobile shares owned by the governments of Delta and Akwa Ibom.
Other Nigerian officials accused in the scam are currently at large. They include Mr. Ibori, former Governor Victor Obong Attah of Akwa Ibom, David Edevbie, a former Principal Secretary to Umaru Yar'Adua, Love Ojakovo, a former commissioner of finance to Ibori and Henry Imashekka, a business associate of Ibori.
The accused face 14 counts of forgery and money laundering in relation to the sale of V-Mobile telecoms shares by Akwa Ibom and Delta States. The accused men reportedly used front companies to defraud the Nigerian states of a total of $37.8 million realized from the sale of the shares.
Prosecutors allege that a company named "Africa Development Finance Company" was the major conduit used to steal the funds.
In an instance cited in the case summary, prosecutors state that an $11 million loan was purportedly granted to an aviation company that assisted Mr. Ibori in purchasing a jet from Canada; $10 million was given to "Ascot Offshore Nigeria Limited," the company that Ibori used to purchase Wilbros; and another $790,000 was granted to another fake firm "Africa Development Co." and an offshore nominee firm.
The charges of forgery concern Mr. De Boer and McCann. They are accused of violating the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act of the UK by creating fake documents between Delta State and Africa Finance Ltd, and also between Delta and African Development Company. They are also accused of creating a false account that used both men's names as beneficiaries as part of a scheme to hide the fraudulent nature of the transactions.
Mr. Gohil will be sentenced upon the conclusion of the trial of Mr. De Boer and Mr. McCann.
V-Mobile Shares Scam: Ibori's Lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, Pleads Guilty (http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/v-mobile-shares-scam-iboris-lawyer-bhadresh-gohil-pleads-guilty)