Matters arising from Pandora papers report on Nigerians

 

Introduction

On Sunday, October 3, 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published what it titled ‘Pandora Papers’ investigation. It is based on one of the biggest-ever leaks of financial documents which exposed a hidden world of shielded wealth belonging to hundreds of politicians and billionaires. The Pandora Papers project involves 617 journalists and 151 media outlets collaborating to investigate a vast amount of previously hidden offshore records of the powerful and super rich in the world.

The Consortium of Journalists obtained the trove of 11.9 million confidential files and led the partners, including Nigeria’s PREMIUM TIMES, that spent two years sifting through them, tracking down sources and digging into court files and other public records from dozens of countries. The leaked records come from 14 offshore services firms from around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore nooks for clients often seeking to keep their financial activities in the shadows. No fewer than 10 Nigerian politicians were indicted in the Pandora Papers while at least eight African countries featured in the document.

According to Bloomberg online report of October 4, 2021, “Moving money through offshore accounts, in mostly low-tax jurisdictions, is legal in most countries, and many of the people named in the data release aren’t accused of criminal wrongdoing. But the journalist group said the 2.94 terabytes of financial and legal data -- which makes this leak larger than the 2016 Panama papers release -- shows the “offshore money machine operates in every corner of the planet, including the world’s largest democracies,” and involves some of the world’s most well-known banks and legal firms.” In total, the ICIJ found links between almost 1,000 companies in offshore havens and 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including more than a dozen serving heads of state and government, country leaders, cabinet ministers, ambassadors, and others.

African connection

According to an interactive map of the leaked documents, five Côte d’Ivoire politicians were helped by foreign agents to stash money suspected to be looted away from public view. Ghana has three politicians listed in the documents, which has been described as “An offshore data tsunami.” Chad, Kenya and Congo Brazzaville have two politicians each listed in the infamous documents that had reportedly sent shivers down the spines of public figures globally; while Gabon has three politicians listed. Angola has nine politicians listed in the document, while Zimbabwe and South Africa have two each. Mozambique has one.

 

 

Indicted Nigerians

Premium Times reported that the 10 Nigerians named in the Pandora Papers scandal were alleged to have flouted “extant laws and legislations as they hide these assets,”. The newspaper said contents of the document revealed how some of the most influential Nigerians – a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, current and former state governors, past and present lawmakers, businesspeople, a popular pastor, and many others – set up shell companies, and sometimes warehouse huge financial assets, in notorious secrecy jurisdictions.

Previous scandals

It is noteworthy that this is not the first time that investigative journalism will unearth humongous global financial scandals. Recall that two previous leaks also coordinated by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, namely the Paradise Papers in 2017 and Panama Papers in 2016 just like the current Pandora Papers scandal exposes systems and jurisdictions that aided and abetted crime, corruption, and wrongdoing by politicians, moneybags, influential individuals, and their enablers globally. The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the National Chapter of Transparency International (TI) in Nigeria, and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) on October 11, 2021 issued a press release in which it said, among other things, that “It will be recalled that the Panama Papers and the Paradise papers led to significant protests across the globe and the fall of governments, dismissal of officials, criminal investigations, and asset confiscations. They also precipitated hundreds of tax probes and criminal investigations, prosecutions, and reforms in the United States, Canada, Europe, and parts of Africa.”

The press statement went further to observe that: “Sadly, both have had minimal impact in Nigeria as the federal government led by President Buhari failed on the two occasions to seize the opportunities to take decisive action against corruption and bring all those indicted in the two papers to account. Nigerian Government only managed to constitute a Panama Papers committee, which never triggered any action or any impact. It is to be assumed that given the large number of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) present in the Panama and other leaks, committees consisting of PEPs are unlikely to indict their own.” Expectedly, many of those indicted in the Pandora Papers report has been offering robust defence for their actions. None has pleaded guilty to the crime in the court of public opinion.

FIRS promises promises to offenders

In a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, a spokesperson for the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Johannes Wojuola, said the service will go after people reported in the leaks and suspected to have broken the law. Nigerians reported so far include ex-governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Bagudu; former minister and serving senator, Stella Oduah; NPA acting chief Mohammed Bello-Koko; and Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State as well as their associates.

Media and civil society call to action

The coalition of CISLAC, Transparency International in Nigeria, and the Premium Times Center for Investigative Journalism urgently calls on President Buhari, the Honuorable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, and all anti-corruption agencies to immediately commence actions to investigate all the people and companies indicted in the stories and revelations of dirty financial deals so far published by the Premium Times Center for Investigative Journalism.

Furthermore, they called on civil society organizations to urgently come together to track and document the reports and commence effort to ensure the exposures does not go the way of the 2017 and 2016 Paradise and Panama Papers. The coalition equally urged the Federal government to consider policy reforms and institutional strengthening necessary to curb the abuse of financial systems and ease the prosecution of violators.

Therefore, they encourage the Federal government to consider the following:

·    Strengthen the Code of Conduct Bureau by digitising the assets declaration processes, documentation and verification, and the prosecution of violators. As of now, the asset declaration administration in Nigeria is dysfunctional and a major enabler for corruption. The federal government must equally work with the National Assembly to remove all the obstacles to public access to asset declarations of every eligible public officers.

· The Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 provides for the setting up of a Beneficial Ownership (BO) register. The coalition called on the government to fully implement this so that beneficial owners of companies in Nigeria can be identified. This will prevent the diversion of public funds through procurement corruption in the first place. The Nigerian government must "live the talk" by ensuring the beneficial ownership data is publicly accessible and must show leadership by acting on them. So far, the lack of action on financial data leaks proves the opposite.

· On its part, the Central Bank needs to ensure that financial institutions fully carry out Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD) as well as Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) as required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Inter-Governmental Action Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), and other international financial compliance guidelines. Effective compliance with these guidelines and measures will curb the current abuse and indiscretion among politically exposed persons and their collaborators.

· The CBN, Anti-graft agencies, the Ministry of Justice, and the Foreign Affairs work in synergy and engage their international counterparts to ensure that global enablers / middlemen like lawyers, notaries, accountants who help facilitate money laundering and tax evasion are blacklisted, deregistered, or held to account under the several national laws, policies and international frameworks to which Nigeria is a signatory. There is enough open data available exposing PEPs, military leaders, senior public servants and others to own lavish properties all around the world. No significant international cooperation with many key jurisdictions takes place at the moment.

· The Federal Government should reopen the Voluntary Asset and Income Disclosure Scheme (VAIDS) and the Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularisation Scheme (VOARS) to enable Nigerians with undisclosed (offshore) assets to declare them and pay taxes where they are liable.

· The National Assembly should ensure that it continues to play its constitutionally mandated oversight functions on the relevant government agencies to ensure that they carry out their mandate.

· With the electioneering period approaching, the Independent National Electoral Commission, CBN, the NFIU, and other relevant agencies must ensure that political parties conform to political party financing regulations and prevent the use of "dirty money" in Nigeria's politics.

The coalition noted that the report shows the significance of a strong partnership between media and the non-profit for an accountable and robust democracy. The Nigerian government must, therefore, immediately retrace its steps and stop further actions to emasculate free speech and gag the vibrant civil society. And instead begin to encourage and promote regular dialogue with civil society leaders and the media, as partners in progress, to find lasting solutions to the multiple political, socio-economic, environmental, and security challenges confronting the nation.

Conclusion

Will FIRS, CBN, CCB, NFIU and other anti-corruption agencies live up to expectations of the well-articulated recommendations of the coalition of media and CSO? Time will tell. It is only hoped that this third time around, Federal Government will not only bark but bite by bringing all the indicted persons in the Pandora Papers to justice!.