Senator Sunday Katung’s Wife has been entangled in money laundering scandal in UK.
NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that the High Court of Justice in the United Kingdom has ordered the forfeiture of a luxury property linked to Abigail Katung, the current Lord Mayor of Leeds and wife of Nigerian senator, Sunday Katung, following a money laundering investigation.
In a judgment delivered on June 6, Justice Jay of the King’s Bench Division ruled that the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) take possession of the £1 million property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), classifying it as “recoverable property” connected to suspicious financial activity.
The residence, formerly owned by Mansoor Hussain, a businessman accused of laundering funds for organised crime groups in Northern England was purchased by Mrs Katung in 2015. That same year, her husband was elected into Nigeria’s House of Representatives. Records show she paid a £400,000 deposit in two tranches to Hussain’s account.
However, investigations revealed that £360,000 of the funds originated from Nigeria and triggered serious money laundering concerns. In court, Mrs Katung admitted resorting to the parallel market for foreign exchange due to Nigeria’s stringent forex controls under the Buhari administration. She claimed the funds were partially sourced from a N120 million bank loan obtained by her husband and transferred to the UK via a Bureau de Change.
The funds were reportedly deposited into the account of 1st Resource, a company linked to Mrs Katung. But the court found her explanations lacking in credibility and her documentation insufficient.
“She has failed to do that,” Justice Jay stated, referencing Mrs Katung’s inability to provide verifiable proof of the transactions’ legality. The court noted that her witness statements omitted key details, including how the payments were made and the absence of testimony from her husband, which the judge described as a “telling omission.”
An attempt by Mrs Katung to validate the transaction with a letter from a company named My Honey Oil Interbiz Ltd was dismissed. The judge cited Central Bank of Nigeria records confirming the firm was not a licensed Bureau de Change.
According to the court, the entire transaction appeared designed to bypass Nigeria’s foreign exchange regulations and exploit favourable unofficial rates.
“Mrs Katung was only conducting a business in foreign exchange transactions to circumvent Nigerian foreign exchange regulations and/or to avoid a punitive exchange rate,” the judge ruled.
Consequently, the court declared that her £400,000 deposit would not be refunded, as it also falls under assets recoverable by the state.
“No credit falls to be given for the value of the deposit payments made by Mrs Katung,” the judgment concluded.
While the ruling did not find Mrs Katung guilty of knowingly collaborating with criminal networks, the court maintained that her financial dealings lacked transparency and compliance with UK anti-money laundering standards.
“I do not find that she was cognisant of what Mr Hussain was up to,” Justice Jay clarified, distancing her from deliberate wrongdoing but affirming the illegality of the transaction.
The NCA has been granted the authority to take full possession of the property and pursue additional financial remedies if necessary. The agency was also awarded full legal costs, with the parties directed to finalise the court order.
Originally from Zaria in Kaduna State, Mrs Katung moved to the UK in 2000 to study at the University of Leeds. In 2024, she made history as the 130th Lord Mayor of Leeds and the first Black African to hold the ceremonial office.
Her husband, Senator Sunday Katung, currently represents the Kaduna South Senatorial District in Nigeria’s National Assembly.