Hidden offshore assets: Toyin Saraki’s lawyers disagree with husband
– Lawyers to Toyin Saraki disagree with the Senate president, Bukola Saraki
– According to them, the controversial hidden assets that Mr Saraki failed to disclose, tucked away in secret offshore tax havens, belong solely to his wife, not her family estate
Toyin Saraki, the wife of the Senate president, Bukola Saraki.
Lawyers to Toyin Saraki have stated that the controversial hidden assets that the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, failed to disclose, tucked away in secret offshore tax havens, belong solely to his wife, not her family estate.
A trove of internal data from the Panama-based offshore-provider, Mossack Fonseca, and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with its media partners all over the world, revealed that the properties were part of the assets belonging to the Senate president’s immediate family.
In a swift reaction to the report, Mr Saraki issued a statement through his special adviser on media and publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu.
The Senate president claimed that he fully complied with the provisions of the law and noted that the assets he failed to disclose belonged to the estate of his wife’s family.
“It is public knowledge that Mrs. Saraki comes from a family of independent means and wealth with numerous and varied assets acquired over decades in family estates and investments,” he said.
READ ALSO: #PanamaPapers: Ex-Senate president fingered in shady investments in tax haven
However, the claims by Mr. Saraki contradicted those by his wife’s lawyers who said that the assets in question belonged to no one else but Mrs. Saraki alone.
The London-based law firm of Harbottle & Lewis, who are lawyers to Mrs. Saraki, clarified the legal position of the controversial assets by saying:
“Our client is the sole shareholder in Sandon Development Limited. There are not and have never been any other shareholders in Sandon Developments Limited.”
The law firm also confirmed that Mrs. Saraki was the “sole shareholder of Landfield International Developments Limited from incorporation until January 2015,” when she sold her shares to a third party.
According to the document obtained by Premium Times, Mrs. Saraki was also the sole director of Girol Properties Limited.
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