President-elect Bola Tinubu’s son has been linked to a
London firm that paid $11m for a propertv in London that was previously confiscated from a notorious oil crook.
Seyi Tinubu, Mr Tinubu’s 37yr old son was said to have bought the property in 2017, according to a report by business outlet Bloomberg. They revealed that Seyi used an offshore shell company Aranda Overseas Corporation to close the purchase, which was facilitated through Deutsche Bank.
The report further described the property as a private 3-floor residence in St. John’s Wood, equipped with an eight-car driveway, two gardens, electric gates and a gym.
The property had been previously confiscated around 2016 from Kola Aluko, a notorious oil dealer who reportedly connived with former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke to fleece Nigeria for nearly half a decade. Shortly after assuming office in May 2015, President Buhari started going after people suspected to have illegally enriched themselves under President Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015)
Mr Aluko bought the property for about $15 million in 2013, indicating that it was sold 4 years later for a lower price, an uncommon scenario for such an upmarket neighbourhood.
Bloomberg couldn’t confirm if Mr Tinubu, 71, was involved in the purchase, but the affair could nonetheless strengthen critics’ arguments that Mr Buhari was transferring stolen assets he seized from cronies of his predecessor to his own cronies. Mr Tinubu has publicly claimed credit for making Mr Buhari president in 2015
Several assets seized in Abuja and Lagos, for one, had been linked to Mr Buhari’s allies, including ministers in his cabinet.
The outgoing Nigerian leader assumed office in 2015 claiming to despise corruption. But his wife, children and close aides have since been linked to numerous multibillion-dollar corruption scandals since 2015. The London property now linked to Sevi Tinubu was reportediv previous purchased as part of about $2 billion Mr Aluko stole in Nigerian funds, largely through shady oil deals. Mr Aluko &
Alison have been on the run since 2015
