African politician’s secret millions may be stashed in Scotland, court told
AN AFRICAN government Minister accused of stoking one of the continent’s most vicious civil wars is at the centre of court action to seize cash allegedly stashed in Scotland.
Martin Lomuro, a leading figure in the ruling regime of South Sudan, has amassed ‘colossal’ wealth and is being targeted as part of a corruption probe. Now a worldwide hunt for assets stolen from the war-torn country has led to Edinburgh, where the politician once studied to become a vet.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has found at least one bank account in Scotland which it believes has been used to harbour or launder illicit cash. The Scottish Ministers’ Civil Recovery Unit has also applied for a court order to freeze the assets of Lomuro, 64.
Professor Madhav Joshi, of the Keough School of Global Affairs at Notre Dame University, in Indiana in the US, said pursuing ‘dirty’ cash through the UK courts could help bring peace to the region. He added: ‘Corruption is rampant in South Sudan. Mechanisms do not exist to hold political elites accountable.’
Oil-rich South Sudan became independent in 2011. However, the new country plunged into civil war in 2013.
The Scottish case against Lomuro is in pursuit of an NCA bank account freezing order under the Proceeds of Crime Act. It was called at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week but was paused for further investigation.
The Crown Office confirmed the Civil Recovery Unit is acting on behalf of the NCA, which would not comment.
Lomuro studied tropical animal health at Edinburgh University for four years, graduating in 1992.
His lawyer in Scotland, David Kinloch, and South Sudan’s ambassador to the UK, Agnes Oswaha, have been approached for comment.