A special report by a reputable American foundation, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has accused Nigerian elites and West African countries of using the United Kingdom’s school system for money laundering.
It said that most of these funds emanate from Nigeria (given its size and long tradition of families sending their children to UK private boarding schools and universities) and to a lesser extent Ghana.
Carnegie said in a tweet announcing the report on Friday, January 29 that matter of laundering money through the exploitation of the UK’s education system has been flying under the radar for some time.
The findings are based on a study which was conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
The Heritage Times gathered that the research titled “West African Elites’ Spending on UK Schools and Universities: A Closer Look.” was spearheaded by US scholar Matthew T. Page, a top expert on Nigerian and African affairs.
Page’s profile on the British think tank Chatham House website describes him as a ‘US intelligence community’s top Nigeria expert’.
His study follows on from an overarching assessment of bribery and corruption risks to UK independent schools carried out in December 2020 by the UK’s National Crime Agency and the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce. The report focuses on West African elites, including those from Nigeria.
Its purpose is to start a conversation between independent schools and law enforcement in the UK, to develop a shared understanding of the money laundering threat to the sector and identify how to best address the ongoing risks.
According to the report, it is difficult to calculate how much illicit finance flows into the UK private education system from West Africa.
This estimated amount, it said was calculated using the recent school and university census data, average school and university fees for the 2019/2020 academic year and the more speculative estimate that 5% of university students and 30% per cent of private boarding school students from countries West Africa have financial links to PEPs.
Meanwhile, the UK Government has reacted to the report, describing it as timely.
The UK ambassador to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, tweeted on Friday that the British government remained committed to fighting corruption.
“This is an informative and timely report by @CarnegieEndow fellow @MatthewTPage into illicit financial flows from West Africa into the United Kingdom education sector,” she said in a tweet.
“Tackling all forms of corruption is a top UK priority and we must all work together to fight it.”
