Premium Times
In clear contravention of extant laws, Dapo Abiodun, the executive governor of Ogun State, is director of at least two offshore companies while also operating a foreign account.
An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES and its partners showed that the governor is also the ultimate beneficial owner of the companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
We were also able to determine that he failed to declare the companies and whatever assets they hold in his asset declaration filings with the Code of Conduct Bureau.
The investigation is part of the global International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)-led Pandora Papers project, in which PREMIUM TIMES is a key participant.
The project saw 600 journalists from 150 news organisations around the world poring through a trove of 11.9 million confidential files, contextualising information, tracking down sources and analysing public records and other documents.
The leaked files were retrieved from some offshore services firms around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore entities for clients, many of them influential politicians, businesspersons and criminals, ostensibly in desperate moves to conceal their financial dealings.
The two-year collaboration has so far revealed the financial secrets of not less than 40 current and former world leaders, and more than 330 public officials in more than 91 countries.
The documents reviewed by this newspaper showed that Mr Abiodun is the sole director and beneficial owner of Marlowes Trading Corporation, a company operating under the laws of the British Virgin Island.
The governor equally owns and failed to declare Heyden Petroleum Limited, another BVI company registered offshore.
Mr Abiodun and his Marlowes
On deciding to set up an offshore structure in a tax haven and secrecy-enabling jurisdiction, Mr Abiodun hired Dubai-based SFM Corporate Services for advice and execution. SFM Corporate Services specialises in trust and offshore company formation services, offshore bank account opening and related services.
It was SFM Corporate Services that in turn hired Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee (alcogal), a Panamanian secrecy seller, to incorporate Marlowes Trading Corporation for Mr Abiodun.
After some back and forth between SFM and Alcogal, the offshore company was incorporated in the British Virgin Island on January 12, 2015, registration documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES showed.
Mr Abiodun was then appointed sole director and shareholder of the company. The businessman was also issued a share certificate number one.
In March 2015, on the completion of the registration of the company, Alcogal sent copies of the new entity’s documents to SFM Corporate services in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates…
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