NRI alleges racial bias in Jersey Island

MUMBAI - An NRI businessman, fighting a 15-year legal battle against charges of money laundering in Jersey Islands, UK, has complained of ‘racial discrimination’ and sought the Indian government’s help in moving the case to the International Court of Justice.

Raj Arjandas Bhojwani’s lawyer Hitesh Jain wrote to External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Monday seeking the government’s intervention “to ensure that his (Bhojwani’s) human rights are not prejudiced and in the interest of justice he is given a chance of fair trial.”

Kolkata-born Bhojwani, who grew up in Mumbai and later settled in Nigeria, has been accused of $50 million money-laundering in two business contracts worth $183 million.

“The contracts for the Nigerian government pertained to supply of Tata trucks in 1996 and the transactions were handled by the Bank of India (BoI) through its Jersey branch,” Jain told IANS.

In 1999, Jersey Island authorities alleged that Bhojwani had overpriced the trucks and slapped money-laundering charges on him.

It was further alleged that the excess amount ($50 million) was allegedly transferred to a numbered Swiss bank account held on behalf of the former Nigerian president Gen. Sani Abacha, his family and associates.

Bhojwani (49) maintained all his accounts and routed payments through them in Jersey Island, where the trial started in the last week of January, 2010.

“It appears that there is a certain element of racial discrimination involved as Bhojwani’s human rights have been completely violated and he is being victimised at the behest of Jersey which appears to be making him a scapegoat for its own vested interests,” said Jain in his letter to Krishna.

He contended that “the government of Jersey is trying Bhojwani under the Proceeds of Crime (jersey) Law, 1999, for alleged offences that he committed in another country - Nigeria - over two years before the legislation came into force.”

The Nigerian government wrote to the British high commissioner at Abuja Dec 29, 2009, making a case why the Jersey government had no business to prosecute Bhojwani as neither the contract of sale of vehicles nor the alleged offences were committed on the British-ruled island.

The Nigerian government also emphasised that neither the NRI businessman nor his corporate entities have ever been “investigated or accused, let alone charged, arrested or prosecuted for any offences in Nigeria by any constitutionally recognised investigative or law enforcement agency” in respect of the two contracts.

The letter by the Nigerian government to the British high commissioner also demanded transferring the case to Nigeria which was rejected by the attorney general of Jersey.

Jain’s letter to Krishna alleges that the Jersey authorities are interested in making monetary gains from Bhojwani’s prosecution.

“The attorney general (of Jersey) has gone to the extent of stating that in the event of Bhojwani’s assets being confiscated, they would consider the possibility of a legal agreement with Nigeria to share the assets,” it says.

Jain expressed apprehensions that Bhojwani “would not get a fair trial in Jersey”.

Bhojwani and his family have been in Nigeria since 1965 controlling varied business interests.