FRESH facts have emerged on the September 27, 2006 ruling in the case involving President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Andy Uba, and the charges of cash smuggling into the United States (U.S.) levelled against him.
The prosecutor in the case, Leslie Westphal, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, told The Guardian that a settlement was reached in the matter at the instance of the President’s aide, after which his seized Mercedes Benz car was released. This, however, was after Uba had paid a fine.
The U.S. district court in Portland, Oregon, found him liable in a case of “cash smuggling” into its territory and failure to declare currency at the port of entry.
The president’s aide, whom the court referred to as Emmanuel Nnamdi “Andy” Uba, was alleged by the prosecutors to have smuggled into the U.S. $170,000 (about N21.59 million) on September 20, 2003, while on Obasanjo’s entourage to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly summit of that year.
He had held “a non-immigrant visa” with a G-2 classification – a category for “other representative of a recognised government to the International Organisation.”
By virtue of this visa, which is not an A-1 classification, Uba was not entitled to any diplomatic cover. The presidential aide was therefore deemed to have breached U.S. laws when on entering the country, he brought in money more than $10,000, without declaration at the point of entry.
The U.S. had the option of trying the case as an outright crime, but apparently since Uba co-operated and chose to seek a settlement, the matter was handled through civil proceedings.
Judge Malcolm Marsh of the district court ordered the forfeiture of $26,000, being apparently the balance of the smuggled money, deposited in a U.S. bank in Portland, Oregon.
Uba was charged alongside his girlfriend, Loretta Mabinton, in whose account/custody the money was found including the Mercedes Benz car bought partly with the funds.
The court had ordered that the $26,000 be “forfeited to the United States of America, free and clear of the claims of any and all persons including Loretta Mabinton and Emmanuel Uba.”
The judgment, entered on September 27 read: “The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is directed to immediately seize and transfer the custody and possession of the $26,000 in U.S. currency to the Secretary of Treasury of the United States for disposition in accordance with applicable statutes.”
Although the case had started since October 2003, the settlement was reached on August 31 this year between the U.S. government on the one hand, and Uba with his girlfriend, Mabinton, on the other.
The agreement however released the Mercedes Benz 2003 S-class car, which Uba had instructed Mabinton to buy on his behalf.
Court papers in the case indicated that Uba, in his filings, claimed that the money included “his savings, some of his family’s money and also U.S. dollars obtained by exchanging the Nigerian currency, Naira for U.S. dollars at a money exchange bureau in Nigeria.”
But the U.S. government asserted in the court papers that “Uba failed to provide any documentation showing that the source of the $170,000 was legitimate.”
The government filings also stated that Uba’s transportation of the $170,000 directly instead of using bank wire transfer from Nigeria to the U.S. “was not necessary.” It submitted that “Uba did not want the money wired because such a transaction would draw attention to the origination, source and destination of the funds.”
But Uba’s lawyer in the case, Douglas A. Stringer, in an interview with The Guardian declined comments on the source of the money, citing client-lawyer confidentiality. He, however, argued that Uba did not admit any wrongdoing.
But the court’s judgment, which forfeited Uba’s money, is a clear indication of Uba’s liability in the case, which the U.S. Attorney Leslie Westphal said was brought under civil laws and not criminal proceedings.
As the complaints showed, other proceeds from the money included the buying of farm equipment that was shipped to the Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Ltd. at a cost of $45,487.28 and payment of credit card bills of $13,000.
Other things the money was used for include the buying of two 27″ Mercedes Benz rims, additional accessories, and the export of the vehicle to Nigeria.
Westphal confirmed to The Guardian that a settlement was reached and Uba’s car was released after payment of a fine. She added that Uba and his girlfriend had actually tried to defend the failure to report the money as required by U.S. law on the grounds that it was brought in through the presidential jet. But Westphal said that the U.S. government opposed that argument since Uba is not a “registered diplomat.”
Besides, the complaint filed against Uba indicated that the U.S. State Department was asked “about any exceptions in monetary reporting requirements that might exist if a person is travelling with an accredited diplomat or an official government plane.”
The prosecutors said: “The U.S. State Department advised that there is no exception to the reporting requirement. Additionally, the U.S. State Department representative reported that even if the money had been transported into the U.S. via a diplomatic pouch, the money could only be used for official purposes of the government of Nigeria.”
The U.S. State Department declared that Uba “is not an accredited diplomat with the Nigerian government.”
Westphal said that her government’s objective in the case “was to enforce its law, which requires everyone who comes in and out to report their currency in order to prevent money-laundering.”
But Uba’s lawyer, Stringer, said that no allegation of illegal conduct was made against his client, except the failure to declare the money he brought in. He also defended Uba’s decision to ask for a settlement of the case, instead of fighting on to ascertain his claim of “doing nothing wrong,” Stringer added: “It was advantageous to proceed on settlement so as not to spend more money.”
He added that Uba actually co-operated fully with the U.S. government on the case, adding that “the source of the money was not a big issue.”
The court filings by the U.S. government showed that Uba had, before the matter, been under surveillance and was once suspected for fraud activities, also known as 419. On whether his client was worried that the U.S. government might still be watching Uba anytime the presidential aide comes to its territory, Stringer said: “I won’t comment on that, the government can say whatever they choose.”
A settlement of a charge between two parties gives both sides an opportunity not to have to litigate the case in the courtroom and, at times, saves time. But both sides have to come to an agreement which the court will then enforce via a binding order, as was done in this case.
The formal charges against Uba were set out in the prosecutors complaints as “the bulk cash smuggling of $170,000 into the United States from Nigeria, the failure to report these funds to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the structured deposit (bordering on money-laundering) of portion of these funds” by Uba’s girlfriend.
The girlfriend had deposited $160,000 of the money at a U.S. bank in Oregon-Electra Federal Credit Union on September 23, 2003, carrying the money in a “purple plastic grocery bag.”