The United Kingdom has returned to the federal government of Nigeria a sum of 4.8 million euros seized from the British accounts of a former Nigerian governor of Delta State (South), an oil-rich region, convicted of corruption by a London court.

The returned sum had been embezzled by James Ibori, governor of Delta State, between 1999 and 2007, according to a British court judgment, and had been recovered by financial agencies. “The federal government has received £4,214,017 in embezzled funds,” Nigeria's Justice Department said in a statement

James Ibori used public funds to buy residences, luxury cars and a private jet, according to British justice. He was imprisoned in April 2012 for embezzling nearly 50 million pounds (62 million euros at the time) after a long extradition procedure, then released on bail in December 2016 in London. His case was seen as emblematic in the fight against high-level corruption in Nigeria, with billions of pounds sent to the UK every year.