Breaking: Public Funds Stolen During Abacha Regime, U.S., and Atiku Bagudu's Family Request Extension From Court to Reach Settlement On Tinubu Minister's Money Laundering Case.

The United States (the plaintiff) and Ibrahim Bagudu (the claimant) asked for more time in the joint status report that was submitted by and via their respective attorneys to finish their settlement or to conclude that there is no chance of a settlement.

In a joint status report, the US government and Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the brother of Nigeria's Minister of Budget and Economic Planning of the Federation, advised the US District Court for the District of Columbia on the progress of their negotiations.

The United States (the plaintiff) and Ibrahim Bagudu (the claimant) asked for more time in the joint status report that was submitted by and via their respective attorneys to finish their settlement or to conclude that there is no chance of a settlement.

Thus, in order to "extend the stay to July 5, 2024," the parties asked.

They requested that the stay in place for this litigation be extended by the court until July 5, 2024.

The United States and Ibrahim Bagudu had taken legal action to settle a lawsuit over more than $140 million purportedly pilfered from the Nigerian government.

Since 2013, the U.S. Justice Department has attempted to take control of four investment portfolios that were held in trust for the former Kebbi State governor, Abubakar Bagudu, and his family. Despite the accusations of money laundering against him, President Bola Tinubu named Bagudu as a minister in August 2023.

The minister is accused by the United States of being a member of a network run by the late military dictator Sani Abacha that embezzled billions of dollars from the government in the 1990s and sent the money abroad through a web of offshore corporations.

Similar to what Bloomberg had reported, on August 3, 2022, the United States and Ibrahim filed a joint motion to halt the ongoing case in a federal court in Washington, DC. They stated that they had "agreed upon the principal terms of a settlement" on July 19 and that they "believe a brief stay will allow the parties to reach a final agreement resolving the litigation." After granting the request, the judge gave the parties until November 2 to submit a status report on their talks. The move, however, omitted any information regarding the specifics of the proposed settlement.

The United States of America signalled in January 2024 that it was prepared to settle the litigation brought against the return of Abacha wealth, implying that Tinubu's controversial minister might receive an additional $30 million.

According to documents obtained by the Peoples Gazette, on January 5, 2024, Atiku Bagudu, through his attorney Ibrahim Bagudu, and American authorities stipulated in a joint status report to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., that the parties had come to an agreement regarding money that was stuck in a bank account associated with the Bagudus.

It has been determined that the assets of Doraville Properties, which the Bagudus owned and operated on the British island of Jersey under Deutsche Bank's jurisdiction, were taken from the Nigerian government during the military coup of the 1990s.

This concerned any assets held in the Doraville Properties Corporation account (number 80020796) at Deutsche Bank International Limited in Jersey, Channel Islands, as well as any interest or assets that might be traced back to the account, among other things.

According to "Sahara Reporter" a new court filing, dated April 26, 2024, was, nevertheless, provided by S. Chartey Quarcoo, Joshua L. Sohn, and Alison A. Yewdell of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the plaintiff (the United States). This document was obtained by SaharaReporters.

It was completed on Ibrahim Bagudu's behalf by Baker & Hostetler LLP attorneys Jonathan R. Barr, Jonathan B. New, and Patrick T. Campbel.

A new court filing, dated April 26, 2024, was, nevertheless, provided by S. Chartey Quarcoo, Joshua L. Sohn, and Alison A. Yewdell of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the plaintiff (the United States).

It was completed on Ibrahim Bagudu's behalf by Baker & Hostetler LLP attorneys Jonathan R. Barr, Jonathan B. New, and Patrick T. Campbel.

The text says, "Pursuant to the Court's March 4, 2024, minute order, Plaintiff, the United States of America, and Claimant, Ibrahim Bagudu, respectfully file the joint status report below, informing the Court of the parties' settlement negotiations, through their respective attorneys.

"The parties further seek that the Court extend the stay now in effect in this process to July 5, 2024, to provide the parties the extra time they need to finalise their settlement or decide that no settlement is possible.

"In this case, fact discovery is finished. On July 19, 2022, the parties settled the dispute by agreeing on the main conditions during expert depositions.

After coming to this understanding, the parties decided to postpone the last few expert depositions and requested a stay of the proceedings until November 9, 2022 on August 3, 2022.

"The purpose of the delay requested by the parties was to give them a chance to finish their settlement without having to invest a lot of time and money in expert discovery and summary judgement petitions.

"The Court granted the parties' request for a stay on August 3, 2022, postponing the proceedings until November 9, and mandating that the parties submit a joint status report on the negotiations for a resolution by November 2.

Since then, it has approved eight more stays extensions. The stay in place will end on May 3, 2024. As previously, the joint status report, which is due today, needs to state whether the situation justifies a second extension.

As of the most recent progress report, the parties had received proposed settlement documents from the plaintiff, which they had then reviewed and revised together. The parties have met and further advanced papers relevant to the U.S. case throughout the last two months.

The resolution of two related proceedings in the United Kingdom (UK) would also be part of the "proposed settlement, as detailed in prior filings," it stated.

"More time is needed for the parties to finalise and obtain authority to execute all of the settlement documents, as well as for them to receive and review documents specific to the UK proceedings from their foreign counterparts, given the multifaceted nature of the resolution," the statement stated.

After considering the aforementioned, the parties concluded that, at this point, it would be more beneficial to work towards a final settlement agreement or come to the conclusion that settlement is not feasible, rather than devoting a substantial amount of time and resources to finishing expert discovery and filing motions for summary judgement.

"A proposed schedule for the remaining proceedings in this case would also be included in the joint status report if the parties decide that they are unable to finalise the settlement and the litigation should resume," they continued.

In accordance with the agreement, the parties must submit a joint status report to the court by June 28, 2024, with the purpose of providing guidance on two options: (i) extending the requested stay beyond July 5, 2024, given the significant progress made towards finalising the settlement; or (ii) requesting that the requested stay expire on July 5, 2024, and resuming litigation if the parties are unable to reach a settlement.