Seyi Tinubu, the son of the incoming president of Nigeria Bola Tinubu, reportedly purchased the $11 million London mansion that his predecessor’s administration was attempting to seize as part of an investigation into one of the biggest corruption scandals in the history of the West African country.
Nonetheless, a report by Bloomberg noted that there is no evidence that Tinubu personally participated in the 2017 purchase of the UK property.
Nearly four years after the purchase, in August 2021, current President Muhammadu Buhari paid him a visit there.
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The source of Tinubu’s family’s riches has long been a topic of discussion, notably during the most recent election campaign when he and his representatives were questioned about it by local and foreign media. He will assume the role of president this month.
The report noted;
The corporate documents seen by Bloomberg show for the first time that Tinubu’s 37-year-old son Oluwaseyi 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.
Bloomberg further reported that the former owner of the home was wanted by the Nigerian government at the time of the acquisition on charges that he had fled the country while owing the nation an oil-trading debt that was worth more than $1.5 billion.
The report further revealed;
At the time of the purchase, Nigeria’s government was seeking to arrest the house’s former owner, accusing him of going on the run while owing the country an oil-trading debt worth more than $1.5 billion.
The state was also attempting to confiscate the upscale real estate and other assets it suspected had been acquired by the businessman — Kolawole Aluko — with the profits of crime.
Aluko denies all allegations of wrongdoing and says a court judgment earlier this year acquitting a former business partner has cleared his name. That ruling is being challenged by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency.
Buhari was elected on a platform promising to combat pervasive corruption, but over the previous eight years, the nation’s standing in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index has declined.
