Ghanaian banker tells UK court how he used “dirty money” to fund political career in Ghana
A former Goldman Sachs banker, Ellias Preko, who has been ordered to pay back over £7.3 million or face a 10-year jail term, says he used chunk of the money to fund his political career in Ghana on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the early 2000s.
The Harvard graduate, 60, was in 2013 convicted for helping “a corrupt Nigerian politician hide a fortune in offshore accounts”, the Mailonline reports.
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According to the report, Preko used his ‘gold-plated credentials’ to launder at least £3m plundered by James Ibori, the former governor of Africa’s oil-rich Delta State.
He explained to the court in a previous hearing that Ghana is predominantly a cash based society and that few receipts exist for his campaign spending.
‘Most of the expenses are not receipted,' he said. 'Ghanaian political activities are not financed by the state,' he added.
‘There is a different concept of work there, the difference being everything is cash.
‘Most of the time, people who donate money they donate it to two or more parties and hedge their bets.
‘The candidate himself will want to distribute money to targeted areas for food and clothes.’
Preko told how he had many political contacts and that his father-in-law who was a former cabinet minister helped him run for parliament.
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‘Unfortunately there was a military coup and the government was overthrown.
‘When I decided that I may want to get involved in politics, my father-in-law introduced me to Prince Audu.’
He explained that Prince had attempted to support candidates who were seen as pro-market modernizers.
‘I used to be on the board of the central bank of Ghana. Prince Audu took interest in me because he was also a former banker.
‘His idea was he wanted to support younger professionals who could go back and help and somehow better things in Africa.
‘I used to go to Prince Audu’s family home in Hampstead off Prince’s Avenue.
‘Along the line, My Lord, I also got involved with fund raising for the party I have been affiliated with since 1996.’
Preko explained that his fundraising skills meant that other candidates would also seek him out.
He told how opposition politicians would tell him they would give him a position: ‘I’ll make you Vice President, I’ll make you a minister,’ Preko said.
‘I spent money to attempt some acceptance because I had been out of the country for so long,' he said.
‘It helps if you spend money because the situation, the economy, is such that people are relatively poor so when you invite them to meetings and you can provide something they will come.
‘It is unfortunate but that is the reality of the ground. I also had to spend money supporting other people running for office.
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‘If you go to the grass roots you have to spend money.
‘I gave money to women to build schools, provide scholarships, just to get my name out there.’
Disgraced Ibori, now 60, splashed out on a fleet of luxury motors and blew millions on property in Britain, South Africa and Houston, Texas.
He was in the process of negotiating a purchase on a £12.5m private jet when Scotland Yard detectives caught up with him.
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Ibori, of Westover Hill, Hampstead, northwest London, admitted seven counts of fraud and money laundering.
Preko, of St Johns Wood Road, St Johns Wood, northwest London, denied charges but was convicted of money laundering.