On Thursday, a video of Anne Welsh, the CEO of the Obasanjo Foundation in London, obtained by SaharaReporters, showed her boasting that she has operated a well-oiled money-laundering scheme for many years.
The video, discreetly shot by one of the participants in the meeting in the United Kingdom in December 2014, reveals that Ms. Welsh was involved in a $4.9 million scheme to exploit the Ebola Virus Disease tragedy in West Africa through helping a group of ‘Lebanese businessmen’ who wished to donate money to the Obasanjo Foundation for some work in Sierra Leone.
The group explains that it would make the donation on one condition: the Obasanjo Foundation would get $2m, as long as it helps launder the balance of $2.9m.
Ms. Welsh also makes a shocking accusation: she says she learnt the art from former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“I had to go through training through President Obasanjo, political training for one year to become discreet,” she says.
“Sometimes we get dollars from people who give money to our foundation and they say they don’t want it to be known that they donated the money but they want to have a letter on like our letter-headed paper and a letter from Obasanjo stating just to say ‘Thank you for your kind donations to the foundation for the work to support Ebola’. That’s it. That is what we normally do.”
On Friday, Premium Times reported that the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation fired Ms. Welsh over the revelations that emerged on the video.
Obasanjo said he, other trustees of the organization, as well as staff of the Foundation were deeply saddened and disturbed by the allegations from Ms. Weish.
“Accordingly, the Board of Trustees has asked her to immediately resign, and she has done so.” Obasanjo told Premium Times over the phone.
The former President also said the Foundation has launched a full-scale investigation into the allegations and has already reported the matter to the London Metropolitan Police and the UK Charity Commission for a thorough probe.
He also said his Foundation had already contacted personalities mentioned or photographed with Ms. Welsh in the publication that revealed the deal, as well as other dignitaries and partners to inform them that “she has now become a persona non grata with the Foundation and its Chairman/Founder.”
Obasanjo also claimed that Ms. Welsh had ceased to be the chief executive officer of the Foundation in December 2014 when she reportedly met the Lebanese businessmen to strike the alleged money laundering deal.
“The CEO of the Foundation at that time was Franklin Lisk,” the former President said.
“I can never associate myself with anything that has to do with money laundering and corruption, and this is a very disturbing development for us all,” the former President said.
Obasanjo, however, did not address Ms. Welsh’s accusation, where she said she learnt the art of money laundering under him for a year.
Obasanjo, whose regime has been labeled as ‘one of the most corrupt regimes’ ever in Nigeria history, comparable only to Gen. Sani Abacha’s tenure, has been in the news lately, with arguments coming up on social media as to whether or not he and his administration were corrupt.
Notable among his defenders is the former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, who claimed that Obasanjo cannot be labeled corrupt due to insufficient or lack of “empirical evidence”.
The link reveals a foreign affairs report detailing how Obasanjo manipulated the 2003 and 2007 General Elections.
Regardless of Obasanjo’s actions of firing Ms. Welsh and ordering an investigation, many believe he has not addressed the issues in her claims that she was trained by him and was acting on his behalf.
Many believe that the whole action was simply a façade for the international community, as he (Obasanjo) has not provided empirical evidence to ascertain his innocence.
Credit – www. post-nigeria.com
