Deji Tinubu in messy deal over ‘unlawful’ acquisition of $11m Diezani’s forfeited UK property

Deji, the son of Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Tinubu is now at the centre of global media storm as news emerged of his illegal acquisition of a property said to belong to an associate of former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, located in the United Kingdom.

The house said to be worth a whopping $11 million is also believed to be among other property secured by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through court-ordered forfeiture from the embattled Diezani and his associates.

The report was reported on all Bloomberg’s continental publications across the world, Tuesday.

The story was further reported on all the social media handles of the publication, such as; Bloomberg UK, Bloomberg Africa, Bloomberg Business, Bloomberg Middle East, and Bloomberg Asia, has also prompted questions of the sources of income of the President-elect’s son.

Seyi Tinubu reportedly paid $11 million for the London property which the President Muhammadu Buhari administration seized from Diezani’s ally Kola Aluko via the EFCC and its court-ordered forfeiture.

The deal is also said to be illegal, further named Tinubu as a shareholder in the London property that had been unlawfully acquired.

Seyi was connected to the acquisition of the London property that was the subject of a fraud probe by President Buhari’s administration, according to the Bloomberg report that was released on Tuesday, May 2.

It was claimed that the mansion was bought in 2017 for $10.8 million by the son of the former governor of Lagos State through his company.

The article, which cited previously published United Kingdom (UK) company documents, noted that the in question property was purchased by Seyi’s company and that it was a component of the worst corruption scandals that the Nigerian government under the current leadership was looking into.

It further argued that Seyi is the main shareholder of Aranda Overseas Corp., “an offshore company that paid £9 million ($10.8 million) to Deutsche Bank for the property in North London in late 2017.

“The private three-floor residence in St. John’s Wood — a district favored by American bankers — is equipped with an eight-car driveway, two gardens, electric gates, and a gym,” the report said.

Bloomberg further alleged that Seyi Tinubu and sisters purchased questionable expensive properties in London and New York without a source of income or tax record to justify it.

The news platform said that as the Buhari government through the EFCC was trying to legally seize the London property over links to graft, Tinubu’s son bought the same property through a company run by his father’s allies from the time he was born to when he turned 24 years and took over control.

In 2020, Alpha Beta’s MD said in a writ of summons that N500m was diverted to Starcomms (now Aranda Resources), with has Tinubu’s son Seyi as its main shareholder.

According to the report, the Nigerian government was attempting to detain the previous owner of the home at the time of the purchase because it believed he owed the nation a debt for oil trading worth more than $1.5 billion and had fled the country.

The report also claimed that the government was aiming to seize posh real estate and other assets that it believed Kolawole Aluko, a businessman, had purchased with the proceeds of crime.

Although it was unclear from the report whether President-elect Tinubu was personally involved in the 2017 purchase of the UK property, however, it was noted that in August 2021, nearly four years after the alleged purchase, outgoing Nigerian President Buhari paid Tinubu a visit at the same location.

Before now, Nigerians and many concerned bodies have repeatedly questioned Tinubu’s source of wealth, including throughout the recent election campaign, when he and his representatives were pressed about it by local and international media.

Bloomberg, however, said in the emerging report that Tinubu’s spokesman and Seyi failed to respond to emails, phone calls, and text messages seeking their comment on the London property under investigation, even as a British lawyer listed as Aranda’s agent in the UK declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules.

“In June 2016, a federal judge in the capital, Abuja, granted a request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to seize more than a dozen properties that Aluko had acquired in Nigeria and abroad, including the one in St. John’s Wood. That forfeiture order was still in force when Tinubu’s son bought the house out of receivership 16 months later.

“The ruling was made on an interim basis pending the conclusion of an investigation into Aluko that was still ongoing as of at least the end of 2018, according to court filings. Aluko can’t comment on the forfeiture case because it is still “sub-judice,” Seyi’s lawyer, Tokunbo Jaiye-Agoro responded by email.