Nigerian Presidency: 300 Firms, Individuals Indicted for Embezzling $620Mln

An estimated 300 firms and figures, including active duty and retired officers, have been indicted in Nigeria on suspicion of corruption in the amount of nearly $620 million, the Nigerian presidency said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – President Muhammadu Buhari won the March 2015 general elections on a pledge to weed out corruption, improve living standards in Nigeria and defeat the Boko Haram terrorist group.

"A committee set up to probe contracts awarded by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) from 2011 to 2015 has indicted more than 300 companies and prominent citizens including serving and retired officers of the armed forces," the presidency said Thursday.

The state recovered over 7 billion Nigerian naira, or $35.1 million, and asked to refund a further $206 million.

"Further investigation by the EFCC [Economic and Financial Crimes Commission] has been ordered to determine whether another N75 Billion should be recovered from some of the companies for unexecuted or partially executed contracts," the state house added.