Ibori’s lawyer to pay £28m – UK court orders

A Court in the United Kingdom, UK, has ordered an ex-lawyer of James Ibori, the former Governor of Delta State, to pay £28 million for helping to hide funds gained illegally.

The lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, who also is Indian, was convicted in 2010 of 13 counts of money laundering and other offences linked to his role in aiding Ibori to hide the proceeds from criminal activities.

Gohil was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2010 and has served half of his sentence.

According to Reuters, Gohil was ordered on Monday to pay over £28 million or face a further six-year sentence.

News reports that the court’s decision came after Ibori was ordered last week to pay £101.5 million ($130 million) or face an eight-year sentence.

However, Ibori had vowed to appeal the UK court ruling.