IBORI’s ASSETS CONFISCATION HEARING BEGINS MONDAY IN LONDON COURT

FORMER Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, is due back at the Southwark Crown Court on Monday, as hearing begins on the confiscation of the £50 million asset he acquired during his two-term in office. 

During the pre-confiscation hearing at the same court in April, Ibori’s defence team led by Ivan Krolick had wanted to waste as much time as possible and perhaps let the case drag till next year, which then prompted the Crown Prosecutor, Sasha Wass, to accuse Krolick of asking “vexatious” questions. She argued strongly that Ibori voluntarily pleaded guilty before his case went to jury in April 2012 and as such, his defence team could not now be asking for more documents or time from the prosecution. It was then that Krolick backpedalled and admitted that: “I’m accepting at the moment that we’ve got the evidence.”
  

The court, presided over by Judge Anthony Pitts, who jailed Ibori for 13 years in April 2012, then ruled that his team had enough of all they needed to prepare for his defence on September 16.
  Earlier this week when The Guardian contacted the court, a female member of staff confirmed that Ibori “is due to appear next Monday, September 16.”
  One of the detectives on the case also confirmed this to The Guardian on Tuesday. When pressed further on the duration of the hearing, his response was: “It should last three weeks, but let’s see how it goes on Monday.”