A 2010 investigative report by the United States Senate has alleged that former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his wife, Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, moved more than $40 million in suspect funds into the United States between 2000 and 2008 through offshore companies and U.S. bank accounts.

The allegations are contained in a bipartisan report titled Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories, released by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations under the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

According to the report, Jennifer Douglas, a U.S. citizen and Atiku Abubakar’s fourth wife, allegedly received and managed funds transferred from offshore entities, including LetsGo Ltd., Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd., and Sima Holdings Ltd., into more than 30 U.S. bank accounts.

The Senate report said at least $25 million of the suspect funds passed through Ms. Douglas’ accounts, while an additional $14 million was transferred to the American University of Nigeria (AUN), founded by Atiku Abubakar, to pay for consultancy services related to the university’s development.

Investigators further alleged that Ms. Douglas used much of the money to support a lavish lifestyle in the United States, including paying substantial credit card bills, household expenses, legal fees and accounting costs. She also reportedly transferred funds to accounts belonging to the Gede Foundation and AUN.

The report stated that U.S. banks initially processed the large offshore transfers, in some cases without recognizing Ms. Douglas as the spouse of a politically exposed person (PEP).

As financial institutions began questioning the transactions, Ms. Douglas reportedly said the funds came from her husband and claimed little knowledge of the offshore companies sending the money.

The Senate investigation also referenced a 2008 complaint by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleged that German engineering giant Siemens AG transferred about $2.8 million in bribe payments to a U.S. bank account belonging to Ms. Douglas in 2001 and 2002.

The report noted that while Siemens pleaded guilty to violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and paid more than $1.6 billion in penalties, Ms. Douglas denied any wrongdoing. However, investigators said bank records showed transfers of more than $1.7 million from Siemens AG into her Citibank account.

The report said Atiku Abubakar attributed his wealth largely to a 16 percent ownership stake in Integrated Logistics Services Ltd. (Intels), an oil services company. However, investigators questioned the structure of a blind trust established after he assumed office as Vice President in 1999, alleging that offshore entities linked to his associates continued to manage his interests.

The Abubakar case was one of four examined by the Senate subcommittee alongside those involving Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue of Equatorial Guinea, the late Gabonese President Omar Bongo and officials connected to Angola.

The report concluded that politically exposed persons and their associates had exploited weaknesses in U.S. anti-money laundering controls by using lawyers, offshore shell companies, real estate agents, banks and other intermediaries to move suspect funds into the country.

To address the identified gaps, the Senate recommended stricter screening of politically exposed persons, greater transparency in the ownership of shell companies, tighter anti-money laundering rules for lawyers and escrow agents, and stronger restrictions on foreign officials implicated in significant acts of corruption entering the United States.

The report was released in conjunction with a Senate hearing on February 4, 2010, as part of broader efforts to strengthen U.S. safeguards against foreign corruption and illicit financial flows.