ONE serving detective from Scotland Yard’s anti-corruption unit, who investigated corruption allegations against former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, has been arrested for allegedly receiving payments from a firm of private investigators working for the former governor.
At least two other detectives are also being investigated over the scam.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which on Wednesday reported that one Scotland Yard detective was arrested, added that three former officers have also been arrested in connection with claims that serving anti-corruption police were bribed. The suspects are being held in custody while inquiries continue. A London business office was also searched.
The Metropolitan Police said the arrests were made as part of a planned operation set up in October 2011.
The BBC said the internal investigation was launched at the request of the Independent Police Complaints Commission last year.
Police said one suspect, a 45-year-old detective constable, is being questioned on suspicion of providing information about “Nigerian fraudster, James Ibori in return for cash.”
Ibori, former Delta State governor, was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment last month after pleading guilty to laundering millions of pounds in the UK.
Two former officers — now private investigators aged 53 and 58 — were also arrested on suspicion of bribery as part of a “pre-planned operation that forms part of a long and complex investigation by the directorate of professional standards (DPS),” the Metropolitan Police said.
The DPS had referred the claims to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in October 2011, and the IPCC agreed to supervise a DPS investigation into the allegations. A fourth man was arrested on suspicon of bribing a police officer after he attended a south London police station by appointment on Wednesday. He also remains in custody.
A report published by The Guardian of London on Wednesday had claimed that a major investigation had been launched into the payments suspected to have the intent to pervert the course of justice.
The report quoted invoices seen by The Guardian to show how a private investigation firm made payments in return for confidential information on Ibori’s case.
The London newspaper reported that Scotland Yard is investigating allegations that detectives working for its anti-corruption unit had been paid thousands of pounds by a firm of private investigators working for Chief Ibori.
A parliamentary inquiry was told on Wednesday that invoices, also seen by The Guardian, purport to show how a firm of private investigators made payments in return for information about the Metropolitan police investigation into James Ibori, described by the newspaper as “a notorious Nigerian fraudster.”
On Tuesday, the Commons home affairs select committee was told by a lawyer involved in the case that invoices showed about £20,000 (about N4,996,097) of potential payments to police officers in what amounted to an undetected case of “apparent corruption right at the heart of Scotland Yard”.
In recent weeks, as The Guardian investigated the allegations, the Met [Metropolitican Police] has sought to discourage the paper from publishing details about the case. But after MPs heard the evidence, the Met dropped its previous insistence that there was “evidence that casts doubt on the credibility” of the allegations.
A police source with knowledge of the investigation, which has been ongoing since October, said developments over the last 24 hours had now led police to take the allegations more seriously.
The case revolves around a private investigation firm called RISC Management. Five years ago, the firm was hired to work for Ibori, after he discovered he was being investigated by the Met for serious fraud. Ibori recently pleaded guilty to money laundering and was jailed in the UK, after the conclusion of a major investigation into his financial affairs.
The allegation now being investigated by police is that some detectives on the Met’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit, which investigated Ibori, were receiving payments in exchange for information about the ongoing investigation.
Invoices and other documents appearing to support the allegations have been anonymously posted to the Met and Independet Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
The documents have also been seen by The Guardian and separately sent to the home affairs committee, which is conducting an inquiry in whether private investigators should be subject to statutory regulation.
Keith Vaz, the chair of the committee, has said there is growing concern in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that some private investigators are operating in “the shadows” of the law. The Commons inquiry has been scrutinising the nexus between private investigators — many of whom are retired police officers — and their former colleagues who are still serving.
On Tuesday morning, Mike Schwarz, a lawyer who represents one of Ibori’s co-accused, told the inquiry about what he understood to be the significance of the m
He said it indicated possible corruption at the heart of the police investigation into the Nigerian politician’s money laundering activities. The invoices are alleged to be from RISC Management to Speechly Bircham, a top firm of lawyers hired by Ibori to prepare his defence.
Schwarz told MPs the invoices “perhaps” documented “payments made by RISC Management to sources, presumably police officers or those close to the investigation”.
He added: “The records, which I think the committee have, show about half-a-dozen payments totalling about £20,000 over a period of eight or nine months it appears to be inappropriate if not corrupt.”
Schwarz told the committee that he believed RISC management had been hired to “extract” information from the police investigation into Ibori.
He said he had also seen emails, which he believed had also been forwarded to the committee, which confirmed “contact” between detectives investigating Ibori and the private investigators.
Ibori ‘ll still be tried in Nigeria – EFCC
Schwarz, from Bindmans solicitors, represents Bhadresh Gohil, a London-based solicitor jailed along with Ibori for orchestrating his money laundering scam.
Gohil is now considering an appeal. Gohil is understood to have been sent the invoices, anonymously, while in Wandsworth Prison last summer.
In a statement, the Met said “the (force) is investigating an allegation that illegal payments were made to police officers for information by a private investigation agency.
“The Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in October 2011, which agreed to supervise a DPS investigation into the allegations.”
Following Schwarz’s evidence to parliament, the Met said it had dropped its previous claim to have recently “uncovered evidence” casting doubt on the allegations.
A source with knowledge of the Met inquiry said the change of stance was unrelated to Schwarz’s parliamentary evidence, adding that instead, there had been developments in the investigation over the last 24 hours.
Schwarz named three serving Met police officers, Gary Walters; John MacDonald and “Clark,” in his testimony to parliament as being potential culprits.
All three officers declined an opportunity to respond to the allegations when contacted last week.
Keith Hunter, chief executive of the company, said “RISC management does not need to pay serving police officers for confidential information, as we pride ourselves in our ability to provide positive solutions and accurate information legitimately. RISC management has a highly respected reputation for conducting professional investigations.”
– Tribune
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