In September last year, Tony Baldry MP (Con, Banbury) is alleged to have written to several high level figures in the UK government, calling for a corruption case against a number of Nigerian money-laundering suspects – all associates of a Nigerian politician called James Ibori – to be dropped, and suggesting that continuing with the case would damage British interests in the Niger delta.
Shortly afterwards, Tony Baldry is alleged to have been paid a substantial amount of money for this service.
Mr Baldry maintains that this is all within the Parliamentary rules, and wholly above board, because he performed this service as part of his second job, as a barrister, rather than in his capacity as an MP.
To MPs and civil servants accustomed to the cosy atmosphere of Westminster, this explanation may seem perfectly reasonable. But I suspect that many outside that circle will find it highly dubious. At the same time as Tony Baldry is sitting as a Member of Parliament ostensibly bound to defend the UK’s constitution and uphold the rule of law, he stands accused of pursuing a parallel career, in which he is alleged to have lobbied the self-same ministers he faces daily in the House of Commons to halt a major corruption investigation. There is a clear conflict of interest here, and if the rules in their current form allow such conflicts to go unchallenged, then – as with the scandal around MPs expenses – there is arguably an urgent need for those rules to be reformed.
More disturbing still, rather than respond to these allegations in detail, Baldry appears to have resorted to the UK’s discredited and draconian libel laws to suppress discussion of the issue. In today’s Independent, the following “correction” appeared:
In our article "Tory MP accused over links to Nigerian politician" 14 February 2010, we reported that Tony Baldry MP had "lobbied" on behalf of a Nigerian politician James Ibori in writing a letter to the Foreign Secretary and others and that his involvement amounted to "political lobbying". We now accept that Mr Baldry did not lobby on behalf of Mr Ibori, the letter was written in his capacity as a barrister, instructed by solicitors, who was acting for Mr Ibori. The letter was not written in Mr Baldry’s capacity as a MP, and we accept that there was no breach of the Parliamentary rule about Lobbying for Reward or Consideration. We apologise to Mr Baldry for suggesting that he acted improperly as an MP.’In other words, Tony Baldry does not deny writing to the UK government about the Ibori case, or receiving payment for this service – he simply denies that he did it in his capacity as an MP.
The original story appears to have been withdrawn from the Independent website, and the rest of the UK media appears to have been remarkably quiet about this issue. This seems all the more bizarre given that the African news blogs seem to be all over the story – perhaps another illustration of the chill that a UK libel threat can cast over the British press?
From Sahara Reporters
The world now knows that the British MP, Tony Baldry, wrote a five-page letter to the British authorities on 24 September 2009 in an effort to interfere in the trial of James Ibori’s associates in London. But that was not all he did in his desire to obstruct justice in the London trial. A Saharareporters’ investigation has revealed that only days before his letter, the controversial MP also met with Nigerian "President" Umaru Yar'adua, who is also a personal friend of Ibori's, to discuss the case. In that meeting on 21 September, three days before he wrote his now infamous five-page letter, Yar'Adua allegedly told him that the EFCC actions against Ibori in the UK were as a direct result of Ibori's support for him as President. According to Baldry, Yar'Adua believed the UK authorities have been enlisted by his political opponents. This would mean that Yar'Adua never believed Ibori was actually guilty of any corruption as governor, which might have given the MP the added energy to write his letter as soon as he returned to the UK.
In the letter, Mr. Baldry extensively questioned the UK's approach to James Ibori. Mr Baldry, a UK Conservative Member of Parliament and lawyer with substantial business interests in Africa, addressed the letter to the Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, the Rt. Hon David Milliband MP.
But he really wanted to show he meant business, and so he sent copies of the letter, which had the address of his legal office - One Essex Court, Temple, London EC4Y 9AR - to the Attorney-General, the Rt. Hon Baroness Scotland QC, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the Rt. Hon Jack Straw MP, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Rt. Hon Alan Johnson MP; and even the UK High Commissioner to Nigeria.
Mr Baldry, who said he had been instructed by Mr. Sarosh Zaiwalla of Zaiwalla & Co. Solicitors to represent Mr. Ibori, the former Delta State Governor of Nigeria who was twice prosecuted and convicted in the UK in the 1990s for theft. Mr Baldry thought it was his mission to persuade these senior cabinet ministers of the UK of the need for Her Majesty's Government to discontinue the ongoing prosecution, at the Southwark Crown Court, of associates of Ibori for various money laundering offences. Mr. Baldry defends his mission on the on the grounds that the prosecution is damaging to the interests of Her Majesty’s Government in the Niger Delta region. He further laments the "Draconian world-wide freezing order on all of Ibori’s assets" which has "serious consequences for Ibori and his ability to live his life day by day".
The letter encloses a "notarized statement, together with supporting documents, which Mr. Baldry personally received from Ibori. He claims that Ibori told him, "It is the first time that anyone has sought to listen to his explanation of what has occurred".
Mr Baldry belongs to the opposition party in the UK parliament representing Banbury. The rewards for Mr. his intervention came in almost instantly: four days after he sent his letter to the Foreign Secretary, on 28 September 2009, he registered the following interest in the MPs’ Register of Interests: "Received fee of £22,012.57 from Zaiwalla & Co. (Solicitors to James Ibori), for advising clients. Time worked: 16 hours."
Mr. Baldry is no stranger to controversy. In 2008, he was listed as one of the MPs involved in the "expenses scandal" that recently roiled the UK Parliament, according to parliamentary sources, he claimed the maximum housing expenses worth £23,083. In 2000, he was accused of failing to disclose that he had taken £5,000 in "loan" before recommending that Sarosh Ziwalla should be awarded a CBE.
Saharareporters has learnt that Mr. Baldry’s letter was rejected by the UK government.
Indeed, the scandalous nature of the letter might have led the UK agencies affected to reject a Freedom of Information request filed by the Nigeria Liberia Forum (NLF) through its convener, Kayode Ogundamisi. Despite repeated assurances, the agencies affected failed to release Mr. Baldry’s letter. The NLF had requested the Ministry of Justice to release the letter to it but its application was turned down.
Preparatory to the trial of Ibori’s associates in London last year, Judge Rivlin QC delivered a ruling for the case at the Southwark Crown Court. According to him: "all the money laundering offences ... arise in this way, and here I briefly summarize the Crown's case. These ... defendants are all closely connected with a man named James Onanefe Ibori ('Mr James'). Theresa is his wife; Christine is his sister and Adebimpe Pogoson was at the material time his personal assistant/secretary. Mr James has a chequered history. At one time, in the early 1990’s, when living in England and working as a cashier, he and his wife were in debt and also in trouble for minor offences of dishonesty; but by 1999 he had risen in the world, and in that year he took office as the Governor of Delta State of Nigeria. In that capacity he was required to make asset declarations, which are said to have been false. He was also paid a salary and expenses, which were expected to his only source of income."
"Notwithstanding these limitations of his office, which were anti-corruption measures, according to the Crown it was not long before Mr James came into personal possession of very substantial wealth, running into millions of pounds sterling. The main thrust of the case against these defendants is that each of them then assisted him in a major money laundering operation, whereby these monies or at least part of them were paid into various bank accounts in the UK and/or used towards the purchase in this country of a number of properties, and/or to fund the luxurious life-styles of one or more of the defendants."
"As it happens, very substantial sums of money have already been frozen pursuant to Restraint Proceedings initiated by the Crown in 2007. The prosecution says that virtually all of this money had been dishonestly plundered from the Delta State or in other ways fraudulently obtained by Mr. James Ibori."
Mr. Baldry's interest in Africa is substantial; he runs ten other jobs according to British parliament filings regarding his profile.
Saharareporters learnt that Mr Baldry, who was the Chairman of the House of Commons International Development Select Committee from January 2001 to May 2005, has extensive interests in the extractive industries of several emerging economies, especially in West Africa. For example, he is the Chairman of Westminster Oil Limited (a British Virgin Islands registered company involved in the development of oil licenses and exploration) and the Deputy Chairman of Woburn Energy plc (a UK AIM-listed company specializing in oil exploration and recovery). He is also a director of West African Investments Ltd (a company that invests in "infrastructure and natural resource projects in Sierra Leone and elsewhere in West Africa") and a shareholder in Target Resources plc (a company involved in gold and diamond mining in Sierra Leone). Mr Baldry is also the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Curve Capital Ventures Ltd ("a sector neutral investment company that predominantly invests in India; China and Africa and advises companies on strategic growth and global expansion"). The MP for Banbury is also the head of a London Barristers’ Chambers (Chambers of Tony Baldry MP of 1 Essex Ct, Temple, London EC4Y 9AR) where he practices as a barrister, arbitrator and mediator.
The Nigeria Liberty Forum, in interviews with Saharareporters, said it would collaborate with other UK–based Nigerian association, especially the Respect Nigeria Coalition (RNC) to ensure that the MP does not escape sanction for obstructing justice in the Ibori case. Already the group has written to the Commissioner of the London Metropolitan police to prosecute the MP.
The trial of Ibori associates—including his sister, his secretary, his mistress and his lawyer—will commence next month, February 2010.
In another trial, his wife, Theresa Ibori and his UK lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil will also face different charges that will go to trial this year.
Last month in Asaba, Delta State, as reported by Saharareporters, a Nigerian judge cynically appointed by Ibori "acquitted" him of 170 charges of money laundering after the judge, Marcel Awokulehin, was paid $5 million in bribes.
The Crown Prosecution Services said that they expect Ibori lawyers to file a fresh motion asking the Southwark Crown Court to quash the London charges against three of Iboris associate appearing before Judge Christopher Hardy, but they appeared unperturbed as they claim to have always expected that the Nigerian case would be compromised and had based their arguments and the fulcrum of the case on a different set of legal principles.
It is instructive that in Mr. Baldry’s letter, he writes, "It is an enormous pity... that there should be such disquiet over this particular case, and perhaps after the outcome of the present court proceedings are known, the FCO, CPS and others might want to reflect on what lessons need to be learnt from the procedures followed in this case".
UPDATE: The original Independent article is still available on t'internet... Tweet
