A PREMIUM TIMES investigation into a secret offshore arrangement involving the family of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki and businessman Leno Adesanya contributed to the victory of the Nigerian government in the disputed Mambilla power project.
The investigation formed a key part of the evidence presented by the Nigerian government and its lawyers during arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, France.
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The investigation, published on 13 October 2021, as part of the Pandora Papers project, revealed details of an offshore company, Hydropower Investments Limited, which was established for three members of the Dasuki family and structured to hold shares in companies linked to Mr Adesanya, including Sunrise Power & Transmission Company Limited, the company at the centre of the Mambilla dispute.
The ICC tribunal subsequently examined the arrangement as part of Nigeria’s allegations of corruption against Mr Adesanya and his dealings with members of the Dasuki family.
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What PREMIUM TIMES uncovered
The PREMIUM TIMES investigation found that Hydropower Investments was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on 14 November 2013 through an offshore secrecy provider, Trident Trust Company Limited, with Mr Adesanya and Abubakar Atiku Dasuki as directors.
The three beneficial shareholders were identified as Abubakar Atiku Dasuki, Hassan Sultan Dasuki and Asmau Iman Dasuki, all children of former NSA Dasuki.
The company was structured to hold shares in Mr Adesanya’s businesses, including 10 million shares in Sunrise Power and 1.5 million shares in Sino Africa.
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The investigation found no evidence that the Dasuki children paid for the shares. When Trident Trust asked how the shareholders would finance the acquisition, Mr Adesanya described the funding as “carried interest through a loan to be arranged by the sponsor (Leno Adesanya) of the project.”
The investigation also found that Mr Adesanya continued to act as the main contact for Hydropower Investments and used his Lagos residence as the company’s contact address.
Mr Adesanya, through a representative, said he received no favours from Mr Dasuki and that he only assisted the former NSA’s children in starting a business. Mr Dasuki, through a representative, also denied asking Mr Adesanya to establish the company for his children.
$1.74m payment examined by the tribunal
The offshore arrangement was not the only transaction involving the parties that the ICC tribunal examined.
The tribunal also considered a $1.74 million payment made by Mr Adesanya to Abubakar Dasuki, one of Sambo Dasuki’s sons, in December 2014.
The tribunal rejected Mr Adesanya’s explanation that the payment was a loan, citing inconsistencies between his account and other evidence before it.
“The Tribunal is not convinced by Mr Adesanya’s explanation that the USD 1.74 million constitutes a loan to Mr Abubakar Dasuki because of the inconsistencies between his account and other elements of the evidential record,” it said.
The tribunal also questioned why such a substantial transaction was not documented in a formal loan agreement.
“The Tribunal would have expected a company like Sunrise, represented by a seasoned businessman like Mr Adesanya, to have recorded the transaction in a written loan agreement,” it said.
The tribunal noted that the recipient was the son of Sambo Dasuki, who served as Nigeria’s National Security Adviser from June 2012 to July 2015.
“The Tribunal does not accept that argument as it is generally accepted that payments to direct family members of public officials can constitute bribes, as is also reflected in the Nigerian Corrupt Practices Act,” it said.
However, the tribunal did not find that the $1.74 million payment was connected to the execution of the Mambilla agreement.
It nevertheless said the dealings contained significant red flags that were not dispelled by other evidence before it.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) began investigating the financial dealings between Mr Adesanya and the Dasukis after this newspaper exposed their business relationship. An extensive scrutiny of Mr Adesanya’s banking transactions later yielded the much-needed evidence: the huge cash transfer to Mr Dasuki’s son.
Tribunal cites PREMIUM TIMES investigation
The connection between the 2021 investigation and the arbitration proceedings became apparent when the tribunal examined Nigeria’s allegation concerning the alleged transfer of a stake in Sunrise Power to members of the Dasuki family through Hydropower Investments.
The tribunal said Nigeria’s allegation was based on documents that became public through PREMIUM TIMES reporting of the Pandora Papers leak.
“Moving to the alleged transfer of a stake in Sunrise to the family of Mr Sambo Dasuki through Hydropower Investment Ltd, the Tribunal considers as follows. Nigeria bases its allegation in this respect on documents that came into the public domain following the leak of the so-called Pandora Papers,” the Tribunal said.
The tribunal’s statement was accompanied by a footnote identifying the PREMIUM TIMES investigation as the source of the evidence provided.
“Exh. R-45, Premium Times article entitled ‘Pandora Papers: Inside the secret deal between Sambo Dasuki’s family and a billionaire govt. contractor’, dated 13 October 2021,” the ICC award cited.
The 2021 investigation showed that Hydropower Investments was established in 2013 and intended to hold 10 million Sunrise shares for members of the Dasuki family.
PREMIUM TIMES was the only Nigerian newspaper to participate in that groundbreaking global investigation coordinated by the Washington, DC-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
PREMIUM TIMES contacted
As part of its evidence-gathering activities for the arbitration in the Mambilla dispute, lawyers in Nigeria contacted PREMIUM TIMES to request additional information and key documents related to the Pandora Papers story involving Mr Adesanya and the Dasukis.
READ ALSO: Mambilla: Malami speaks on $200m settlement, rejects ICC corruption finding
But this newspaper responded by directing the lawyers to the story and associated documents on its website, the details of which the lawyers and justice ministry authorities downloaded to form the core of the argument used to prove Mr Adesanya’s record of alleged manipulation of Nigerian government officials.
Reacting to the verdict, PREMIUM TIMES’ Managing Editor, Idris Akinbajo, said the paper is pleased and proud to have contributed to Nigeria’s success in the arbitration.
“This is another outstanding impact of the global Pandora Papers project in which PREMIUM TIMES was a key participant. We thank the ICIJ and other partners for that groundbreaking investigation. We are glad that our country, Nigeria, has now benefited massively from the project. We will keep doing our best to add value to our country, subregion and humanity.”
WHAT NIGERIA WOULD HAVE LOST
If Nigeria had lost the Mambilla project arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, the country’s potential exposure and financial liability would have been in the region of over $3 billion.
The financial risk breakdown consists of two main interrelated claims brought forward by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
The first is a compensation claim of $2.35 billion to upwards of $2.7 billion, including interest, which is the initial core arbitration for an alleged breach of contract regarding the development of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
There is another settlement claim of $200 million settlement sum and a $200 million default penalty, which could balloon up to $680 million with compounded interest, filed by Sunrise on the ground that Nigeria allegedly breached a 2020 settlement agreement.
Meanwhile, apart from avoiding the multi-billion dollar liability, Nigeria also saved on its legal expenditures. Instead of paying out damages, the ICC panel ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter, Mr Adesanya, to personally shoulder the legal burden and reimburse Nigeria roughly $11.82 million, about 75% of the country’s legal fees and arbitration expenses.
“We are glad that our newspaper played an important role in saving Nigeria from this huge, potentially damaging liabilities,” Mr Akinbajo added.
YOU CAN READ AND REVIEW OUR FULL REPORT AND DOCUMENTS PRESENTED TO THE TRIBUNAL HERE:
PANDORA PAPERS: Inside the secret deal between Sambo Dasuki’s family and a billionaire govt. contractor.
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