One Frantic Search for The Real Economy

"NFT Heist" - great satire  

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further money heists in the funding of agriculture through the Central Bank of Nigeria 

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Crime or Grime ??

1.   


2.  

by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, for the BBC

3. 

Naira Marley featuring Zlatan Ibile: Am I A Yahoo Boy

There is God o.  

There is God o.  

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Sahara Reporters' Latest: How El-Rufai’s Wife, Children, Kaduna State Government Officials Shared N3billion Contracts

Despite ceaselessly advertising himself as an apostle of due process and transparency, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state, SaharaReporters has found, runs an opaque contract award system in his state. Documents exclusively obtained by SR show that the lack of transparency in contract awards is characterized by blunt refusal to advertise bids, as required by the Procurement Act; contract splitting, cornering of contracts through fronts-by members of El-Rufai’s family, cronies and officials of his government. 

The full article and related pieces are here: Bazaar: How El-Rufai’s Wife, Children, Kaduna State Government Officials Shared N3billion Contracts


NEWSBUKA for all the burning topics in Nigerian politics and society.GeT FREE EmAiL UpDaTeS"

Nigerians confused about Buharinomics should study Islamic principles.

Western finance is Haram.

Wikipedia: Islamic economics

The central features of an Islamic economy are often summarized as: (1) the "behavioral norms and moral foundations" derived from the Quran and Sunnah; (2) collection of Zakat and other Islamic taxes, (3) prohibition of interest (riba) charged on loans.

Advocates of Islamic economics generally describe it as neither socialist nor capitalist, but as a "third way", an ideal mean with none of the drawbacks of the other two systems.

Among the claims made for an Islamic economic system by Islamic activists and revivalists are that the gap between the rich and the poor will be reduced and prosperity enhanced by such means as the discouraging of the hoarding of wealth, taxing wealth (through zakat) but not trade, exposing lenders to risk through Profit sharing and venture capital, discouraging of hoarding of food for speculation, and other sinful activities such as unlawful confiscation of land.

Does this help you understand the President's constraints better? For instance, no loan deal, but investment deals and currency swaps are good. China yes but IMF no.  You're welcome.  Please leave a donation.

Meanwhile,
a few ridiculous faithful people have been about the internet explaining the President's economic moves, plans, strategies...

Don't trust that alert as proof of payment. It could be a Scam method.

I just found this story on Bellanaija:

The scammer 'paid' for the merchandise, seller confirmed the payment via phone alert, and then handed over the goods, in this case a car valued at about $15,000 with documents. 
It turned out that the alert was fake, probably just a cloned message from a sender NOT the bank but resembling the bank.

This is terrible.
These criminals are ruining 'trust' in our society.
They should be found and punished.

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The high crimes and high life of Ibori and co.

James Ibori defrauded £157m from west African nation's oil rich Delta State

He spent millions on luxury mansions, private jet, fleet of cars and hotel trips

He admitted conspiracy to launder funds during his eight-year governorship

The 51-year-old is accused of personally pocketing £50million of the money

But his defence lawyer claims he did not make a single penny from the fraud

Full confiscation order under Proceeds of Crime Act on Friday will determine how much he will be ordered to repay

SOURCE:  Former Wickes cashier who became a Nigerian state governor and defrauded some of the world's poorest people out of £157million may not have to pay back a penny, by Emma Glanfield for THE DAILY MAIL (UK) 

A former Wickes cashier who became a Nigerian state governor and defrauded £157million of public funds to live a lavish lifestyle may not have to pay a single penny back.
James Ibori, 51, is said to have personally pocketed £50million of cash stolen from the west African nation’s oil-rich Delta State during his eight-year tenure.
The former £5,000-a-year Wickes cashier blew millions on luxury homes, a £12.6million private jet, fees at some of the UK’s most expensive boarding schools for his children, first-class travel and exclusive hotels.

James Ibori, 51, of Hampstead, London, is said to have personally pocketed £50million of cash stolen from the west African nation's oil-rich Delta State during his eight-year tenure

The former Wickes cashier blew millions on luxury homes, a £12.6million private jet, fees at some of the UK's most expensive boarding schools for his children and exclusive hotels

He owned a £600,000 fleet of armoured Range Rovers, a £120,000 Bentley and a £340,000 Mercedes Maybach that was shipped direct to his £3.2million mansion in Johannesburg.
Described as one of Nigeria’s most influential and wealthy politicians, Ibori rigged lucrative state contracts with the help of his wife, mistress, sister, and an inner circle of corrupt officials and lifted money straight out of state funds.
He also sold £23million of state-owned shares in telecoms company Vee Mobile to fund a lavish lifestyle, including £125,000 monthly credit card bills while his people languished in poverty.
Ibori, who now lives in Hampstead, north west London, was sentenced to 13 years behind bars in April 2012 after admitting a raft of fraud and money laundering offences.
He is due to face a confiscation hearing at Southwark Crown Court but it was claimed today that he did not make a single penny from the £157million fraud.
Applying to have confiscation proceedings thrown out, Ivan Krolick, defending, said Ibori’s pleas of guilt were not an admission that he personally profited from the scam.

Ibori owned a £120,000 Bentley, a £340,000 Mercedes Maybach that was shipped direct to his £3.2million mansion in Johannesburg and a range of homes including one in Dorset, pictured

The former £5,000-a-year Wickes cashier owned a £600,000 fleet of armoured Range Rovers and sold £23million of state-owned shares to fund a lavish lifestyle, including £125,000 monthly credit card bills

The court heard if the full confiscation hearing does go ahead under the Proceeds of Crime Act, the fraudster may only be ordered to pay back £330,000.

Prosecutor Sasha Wass QC said: ‘The handling of the money itself gave rise to the crime so the benefit of the crime in the context of this case would be the same thing.
‘It gives rise to the proceeds of crime.
‘The Crown has been taken wholly by surprise that Mr Krolick should address the court and say that there was no evidence in effect that Mr Ibori benefited’.
Nigerian-born Ibori moved to the UK in the 1980s where he married his wife, Theresa, and worked as a cashier at Wickes in Ruislip, Middlesex.
In 1990 the pair were convicted of stealing goods from the store and fined £300. A year later Ibori was fined £100 for handling a stolen credit card before he moved back to his homeland.
Ibori was elected as governor of Delta State in 1999 after tricking his way into power by hiding details of his previous convictions in the UK for theft and changing his age.
In 2003, he was re-elected as governor for another four year term, after failing to disclose his previous convictions and financial status.

Ibori, 51, who now lives in Hampstead, north west London, pictured, was previously convicted of stealing goods from home-improvement store Wickes and handling a stolen credit card

Ibori, described as one of Nigeria's most influential and wealthy politicians, bought a £120,000 Bentley, pictured, a £340,000 Mercedes Maybach and a £600,000 fleet of armoured Range Rovers

During that time he systematically stole funds from the public purse, secreting them in bank accounts across the world.

His methods included the inflation of State contracts, kickbacks and the transfer of cash from the State accounts by unscrupulous employees in his inner circle.
In one instance he rigged the tendering process for state contracts in cahoots with his mistress Udoumaka Okoronkwo, who would be due to face confiscation proceedings alongside Ibori.
The couple used Okoronkwo’s companies Sagicon, Rivbbed and Saagaris - the latter of which their four-month old love-child was named as a director of - to ‘bid’ for inflated deals to provide items to the state including china and vehicles.
The money was then channelled out of Nigeria before it was laundered through a series of off-shore trusts and companies.
Ibori was also helped to steal the cash by his wife Theresa, sister Christine Ibori-Ibie, and a series of corrupt professionals - UK London based lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, fiduciary agent Daniel Benedict McCann and corporate financier, Lambertus De Boer.

Ibori was also helped to steal the cash by his sister Christine Ibori-Ibie, whose plush home is pictured above, wife Theresa and a series of corrupt professionals including London based lawyer Bhadresh Gohil

 The former state governor was arrested by officers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria in December 2007.

Two years later at a court in Ibori’s hometown in Asaba, 170 charges of corruption were dismissed on the basis that there was no clear evidence to convict.
The case was reopened in April 2010 by the EFCC before Ibori fled to Dubai. He was finally extradited back to the UK in April 2011.
Ibori admitted ten offences relating to conspiracy to launder funds from Delta State, substantive counts of money laundering and one count of obtaining a money transfer by deception and fraud.
He was excused from attending today’s hearing and Judge Anthony Pitts is expected to rule on Friday whether he will face a full confiscation hearing.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2600746/Former-Wickes-cashier-Nigerian-state-governor-defrauded-worlds-poorest-people-157million-not-pay-penny.html

Guilty by association? Madoff's former employees are found guilty of fraud.

In 2009 Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of $20 billion and was sentenced to 150 years.

Now, after nearly 6 months on trial, Bernard Madoff's former employees are found guilty of participating in the world's biggest Ponzi scheme.  Dan Bonventre, Annette Bongiorno, Joann Crupi, Jerome O'Hara and George Perez were hit with a litany of federal criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud...READ MORE

The former stockbroker Bernie Madoff

One of the victims/collaborators/formeremployees testified in her federal court trial that she was just following Bernard Madoff's orders and had no idea she was participating in a massive fraud.

SLS is The Man!

One of the world's most respected Central Bankers is CBN governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.  That is a fact. 

He has received an unprecedented level of recognition (winning best Central banker multiple times apiece) from Emerging Markets magazine, African Banker, and so on. 

Internet hell

Is this internet connectivity signal dead or alive? 

MTN in Nigeria sucks so bad. 
Past week paid for, with not one minute of usable signal (including overnight), and not only is my money gone, additional money has vamoosed from the SIM card as well.  MTN steals "credit" for fun.

What's strange is that it sustained rates over 1000kb/s on a recent Sunday evening in Lagos Island - completely baffling pleasant surprise. 
On my usual location on Lagos Mainland, MTN internet is dead. 
In Ogun State, dead. 
So I migrated to the island, still dead. 

I tried this arbitrage scam: use a blackberry internet plan on your modem, browse without a data limit - very funny.  I just found a more promising one here. 
I try to unsubscribe for the future: text NO to 21600 - no way. 
And they stole an additional N1000. 


Using a different product right now.  But Ah'll be back!
FOOD, WATER, and INTERNET, are (wo)man's three basic needs. 

Comparatively speaking

How do politicians make money? (Source)

When Bill Clinton left office after eight years as president of the wealthiest and the most powerful country in the world, he had nothing, not even a home.

In fact, he was seriously in debt to the tune of about $12 million on account of his legal battles while in office. According to him, "I knew that I wanted to write a book about my life and the presidency and that I would have to work hard for three or four years to pay my legal bills [and], buy our home"

In 2004, Clinton received between $10m and $12m for writing My Life. He has followed this up with a lucrative speaking career, earning about $40 million in speaking fees over the past six years.

In one of his most lucrative years since he left the presidency, Clinton earned $9 million to $10 million on the lecture circuit. He averaged almost a speech a day -- 352 for the year. On one particularly good day in Canada, Clinton made $475,000 for two speeches, more than double his annual salary as president.

"I never had a nickel to my name until I got out of the White House, and now I'm a millionaire." Clinton reflected.

But contrast above with Nigerian politicians. Some governors are currently facing trials for allegedly looting their state treasuries. One of them is accused of laundering a staggering N36 billion while in office.

As they say, different strokes for different folks

- by Martin Udogie (Editor of Bottomline Business Newsletter)


There's this old joke I like to tell, which I read in Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat (with Western, Asian, and African government officials). This version is from a Kenyan site, so just Americans and Kenyans. But you get the idea:

A Kenyan politician went to the US to visit his counterpart. When the senator invited him home for dinner, the minister was very impressed by the lavish mansion, grounds and the costly furnishings. He asked, "How can you afford all this on a meagre senator's salary?"
The senator smiled knowingly and took him to the window. "Can you see the river?"
"Yes"
"Can you see the bridge over it?"
"Of course", said the minister.
"10 percent", said the senator smugly.

Some time later, he had occasion to pay a return visit. The Kenyan minister lavished all hospitality on him. When they came to his house, the American was stunned by the huge palace the minister had built, glittering with precious art, hundreds of servants etc.
"How can you possibly afford this, on a salary in Shilings?', he asked.
The minister called him to the window. "See the river over there?"
"Sure", cried the senator.
"Can you see the bridge over it?"
The senator looked, was confused, peered closely and said - "No, I don't see any bridge."
"100 percent", said the minister !!

Too big to jail?

It appears that in Nigeria some thieves are too big to jail.  Even if prison terms can not be set in direct proportion to the amount stolen, we need to at least entrench a mo' money mo' problems policy, as in, the more money you steal, the more punishment you receive.

Everyday in the newspapers, you find minor headlines such as these two from Page 10 of yesterday's BusinessDay:
"2 bag one year in jail for robbery" - how much?  N10,700 during the strike free-for-all and also a motorcycle valued at N120,000, plus possession of a cutlass.
"Man sentenced to 2 months imprisonment for theft" - he stole clothing worth N45,000, he is also required to pay back N45,000 to complainant or face one additional month in jail.

On the other hand, for grand theft in the millions, we have witnessed several "probes" to nowhere, that is, zero jail time.  

What if jail time was measured out in Direct proportion to the amount stolen?  Here's the math:
N45k --> 2 months + "payback" and N130,700 + "cutlass" --> 12 months  means that* a month in jail is the punishment for something like N10k to N20k, or $100, of theft.
In this model, if you happen to be found guilty of stealing N1 million ($6000), you've got 60 months in jail, that is five years.  For stealing N100 million naira, you're in jail for 500years, or your whole life.

For those who find this too harsh, another option is to make a more gradual, say logarithmic increase in jail time.  It may look something like this:  under N20,000 --> 1 month or less
around N200k --> 1 year
 N400k --> 2 years
 N800k --> 3 years
thus, stealing N100 million gets 10 years
while stealing $100 million gets the offender 17 years out of circulation

It's about time there were rules from pickpocket level all the way to large chunks of the GDP.  Everybody must understand that if you try to take a shortcut, you will get caught and you will have a large penalty to pay.  For now, how many do you know popping champagne about town who properly ought to be in prison? 

* - assuming reasonable monetary equivalents for payback and cutlass , set N45k fine at value of 1-3 months of freedom and cutlass possession at value of additional N10k - N100k of theft.  Note, at present $1 is about N165