$9.3m Seized Cash Traced To Intelligence Agency

Following the admission by the Nigerian government that the $9.3 million cash, which was seized by South African customs officials, was legitimate and had the stamp of approval of the Nigerian intelligence community, the federal government has opened diplomatic talks with the South African government to reach an amicable resolution of the incident, according to reports from ThisDay.

The South African police had on Monday said they had launched an investigation, following the seizure of the $9.3 million cash found stashed in the luggage of two Nigerians and an Israeli who had flown into Johannesburg’s Lanseria Airport in a private aircraft.

The money, which was meant for the procurement of arms, was detained and passed on to the South African central bank, because it was undisclosed, undeclared and above the prescribed legal limit for bringing cash into the country, the country’s customs officials explained.

However, a source from the presidency, who disclosed the government-to-government talks yesterday to some select journalists, also said the federal government had released data and documents on the arms deal to the South African authorities.
According to the source, “The bi-focal diplomatic talks with South Africa are at the governmental level and exchanges by intelligence services of the two nations.”

The source said following the preliminary diplomatic talks, the Bombardier Challenger aircraft, with US registration N808HG, might have been released to the Nigerian government pending the conclusion of a comprehensive investigation by the South African government.

It was further revealed that the high level discussion also covered sharing of vital security information to prove that the deal was legitimate and necessary.
The government’s position was said to have been strengthened by the fact that findings revealed that the South African government had only faulted the non-declaration of the cash by the two Nigerian passengers and the Israeli.

Speaking on the efforts being made so far to resolve the incident, the source said: “Nigeria and South Africa are getting closer to a diplomatic resolution of the incident over the $9.3 million cash. The two nations have opened up discussions.

“The federal government has submitted relevant data and documents on the arms transaction to South Africa and insisted that the transaction was legitimate.

“It also clarified that the funds were not laundered or smuggled for any covert activites. No person will be that audacious to fly into a country in a chartered jet with such a huge amount of cash.

“The technical details on security matters, which necessitated the desk had been availed to South Africa for screening, but a procedural error occurred.”
Based on initial scrutiny of the documents, the source disclosed that the Challenger aircraft has been released to the Nigerian government, pending the conclusion of a full-scale investigation by South Africa.

The source further provided clarification on why South Africa impounded the cash, saying: “There was a procedural error at the airport, the team did not declare the $9.3 million contrary to the aviation and customs laws in South Africa.

“So there was an oversight on the part of the delegation that went to complete the transaction. Nigeria is trying to complete the formalities and we are confident that the cash will be released for the purpose it was meant for.”

He maintained that the movement of cash for the strategic purchase of security equipment by the intelligence service is not new, adding, “It is a global trend. The FBI, KGB, MOSSAD and others do it.”

The ammunition, which was being procured for the immediate prosecution of the war against Boko Haram, included arms and a military helicopter, and was approved by an intelligence office close to the presidency.

An official in the office said that the matter would soon be resolved and that the decision to use cash instead of routing it through the banking system stemmed from the urgency of the transaction.

He said the purchase of arms from countries like the US and other Western nations often take much longer because of compliance issues.

As a result, certain security organisations resort to the use of cash for the purchase of ammunition from certain defence equipment manufacturers to speed up the process.