Pandora Papers: Senator Stella Oduah Allegedly Paid N5bn Houses In London

Fastnews Nigeria reports that according to investigative reporting in the Pandora Papers, Senator Stella Oduah, who represents Anambra North in the upper legislative chamber, allegedly purchased London properties worth N5 billion in cash from 2012 to 2014, while serving as Nigeria’s Aviation Minister.

The Pandora Papers implicated ten Nigerian politicians and 26 other African leaders.

The Pandora Papers is a leak of about 12 million documents that reveals hidden riches, tax evasion, and money laundering by some of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful people.

The Pandora Papers exposes how wealthy and powerful people around the world, including more than 330 politicians from 90 countries, launder money by forming companies in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and Switzerland and Singapore.

Oduah founded International Trading and Logistics Company Limited (ITCL) in the tax haven of Seychelles, according to Nigeria’s Premium Times, which is a member of the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

On July 12, 2011, just days after her assumption of office as Aviation Minister, Oduah used ITCL Nigeria to buy Flats 303 and 306 Grant House, 90 Liberty Street and London SW9 0BZ.

Records show that none of the four properties was bought with mortgage financing, meaning Oduah secretly routed 6.7 million pounds through her offshore company to anonymously effect the acquisitions, according to the report.

It is unclear if she declared some or all of the properties and the offshore company ITCL to the Code of Conduct of Bureau (CCB).

The senator did not respond to requests for comments from journalists.

President Goodluck Jonathan fired Oduah from her position of Aviation Minister on February 12, 2014, after she was indicted by two panels for purchasing two bullet-proof cars for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for N255 million, in breach of public procurement and appropriation laws.

She dumped the PDP for the governing APC in August 2021.