Founder of Arik Air, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide is perhaps the country’s most prolific user of offshore entities. Mr Arumemi-Ikhide, alongside his wife, Mary, owns and maintains an intricate network of shell companies scattered across notorious tax havens.
Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, Arik Air Founder
The revelation was brought to light as almost 400 journalists from 96 media organisations across the world analysed leaked data obtained by German newspaper, Suddeutsche Zeitung, and the International Consortium of International Journalists (ICIJ) from two offshore secrecy providers (Appleby and Asiaciti Trust) and 19 secrecy jurisdictions around the world.
The leaked 1.4 terabyte data, named Paradise Papers, consist of 13.4 million records and is no doubt one of the biggest leaks in history.
Documents seen by ICIJ partners revealed that Mr Arumemi-Ikhide and his wife are the beneficial owners of multiple shell companies registered and managed on his behalf by Appleby.
The companies include, JMIA (605) Aircraft Leasing Ltd, Gexair Ltd, JMIA (605) Aircraft Operator Ltd, and JMIA (6000) Aircraft Leasing Ltd (both companies were incorporated in the Isle of Man) as well as a company called Rockson International Group Ltd, incorporated in British Virgin Islands (BVI), whose business focus remained unclear.
Documents also sourced from the Panama Papers leak also revealed that the duo hired controversial Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, to help them incorporate and manage a string of shell companies in the BVI.
The shell entities include St Joseph Properties Ltd, St Gregory Properties Ltd, Ojemaie Properties Ltd, St. Gregory Holding Ltd and St. Overbury Properties Limited.
Despite being an avid user of offshore entities, Mr. Arumemi-Ikhide didn’t get much love in return even from some of the most notorious secrecy providers who either deal cautiously with him or declined to act as his agents, documents show.
In 2015, Appleby contracted American Financial information firm, Dow Jones, to do a due diligence research on him. The report alleged a string of money laundering allegations, and made reference to investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The report also tagged Mr Arumeni-Ikhide Politically Exposed Person (PEP) with link to a former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili. He was also labelled a “chronic debtor” and was flagged for allegedly engaging in business discussion with the government of Cote D’Ivoire in 2013, when the country was under international sanctions.
In a list of 135 PEPs, rated from low to high risk, the Arik founder was rated “high risk” and given the additional label of “red flag”. He was the only person in the list with the label.
Similarly, in 2015, Mossack Fonseca resigned as agent and operator of four of Mr Arumemi-Ikhide’s shell companies after five years of chasing his representatives for identification documents needed for another due diligence report on the businessman.
An internal email thread obtained from the Panamanian law firm also revealed the company’s own investigations unearthed “adverse information” about Mr Arumemi-Ikhide.
“Since we found adverse results regarding Joseph Ikhide Akinola Arumemi-Ikhide listed as director and shareholder of the reference companies and taking in consideration that we do not have due diligence information, we will resign as registered agent of the mentioned company.
“Considering the lack of documentation, details and respective explanations about the information found in the compliance searches, the compliance committee decided that Mossack Fonseca will not continue providing service as registered agent to the following companies:
589684 – St. Gregory Properties Ltd
6011957 – St. Joseph Properties Ltd
6010550 – St. Gregory Holding Ltd
533335 – St. Overbury Properties Limited
“Please proceed to assign a case of resignation as registered agent of the companies,” wrote Gustavo Sevillano, Mossack Fonseca’s compliance official, in an email.”
In January 2014, Mr. Arumemi-Ikhide requested the services of Appleby to help him set up two firms — JMIA (605) Aircraft Leasing Ltd and JMIA (6000) Aircraft Leasing Ltd — as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to purchase two new private jets worth $73 million.
“The client has requested that we set up two SPV’s to own two new aircraft, one Challenger 605 (USD 28,000,000) and one Global 6000 (USD 45,000,000),” one of the documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES show.
“The client is selling his current aircraft to finance the new ones together with financing provided by Invector [a Mauritian bank]. Law Firm are lead counsel for the entire transaction. The UBO [ultimate beneficial owner] will be the sole shareholder of these two entities, potentially via our nominee shareholder,” the document added.
He was charged £5,000 to set up each of the shell companies including £5,000 annually as responsibility fee and £5,000 annually as administrative cost.
Another document showed that Mr Arumemi-Ikhide, on October 30, 2014, applied for a loan of $19.7 million to finance the purchase of the Global 6000 and another loan of $7 million to finance the purchase of the Challenger 605.
The data also revealed that Mr Arumemi-Ikhide used nominee directors appointed by Appleby and Darbara Limited, an Isle of Man firm, to hide his ownership of some of his shell companies. For instance, in 2014, he consented to a 150-year deed for Darbara Limited to hold his shares in JMIA (605) Aircraft leasing Ltd as a trustee.
“The nominee declares that it holds the shares as trustee and, save as permitted by clause 3 of this deed, as nominee under a bare trust for Joseph Ikhide Akinola Arumemi-Ikhide, a national of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” a document reads.
The agreement however stipulates that Darbara Limited shall “account to the beneficiary owner for all dividends and other distributions received in respect of the shares” as well as “exercise, as the beneficial owner may from time to time direct, all voting and other rights.”
But despite documents showing that he bought two private jet, when asked, Mr Arumemi-Ikhide claimed he only bought one Bombardier aircraft for $23 million through a financing firm – JMIA (605) Leasing Limited.
To highlight the intricate nature of Mr Arumemi-Ikhide’s offshores companies, while several documents seen identified him and his wife as the joint owners of JMIA (605) Aircraft Leasing Ltd and JMIA (6000) Aircraft Leasing Ltd, two documents obtained from the leaked database linked the companies to oil mogul and owner of Aiteo Group, Benedict Peters.
General Controllers Limited, a shell company owned by Mr Peters, was identified as “sole corporate director” of JMIA (605) Aircraft leasing Limited and JMIA (6000) Aircraft Leasing Limited. General Controllers Limited also co-signed two documents appointing Arik Air International Ltd and Blue Marble Aviation Limited (one of Mr Arumemi-Ikhide’s United Kingdom companies) as agents for receiving service of process in any legal proceeding in the United States and the UK.
At least one of Mr Peters’ London properties was linked to the alleged bribery case involving a former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. The property is one of three London properties linked to Mrs Alison-Madueke which has now been frozen under the UK Proceeds of Crime Act.
The order, issued in September 2016, forbids defendants Mr Peters, Mrs. Alison-Madueke, Atlantic Energy’s Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, Christopher Aire (a jeweller for Mrs. Alison-Madueke) and Donald Amamgbo (her cousin) from disposing of or dealing with the properties.
Mr. Peters’ company Aiteo is also linked to the 2015 INEC bribery scheme that saw Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s son, Ugonna Madueke, distribute $115million to INEC officials via Fidelity Bank in 2015.
– Source: PremiumTimes