Nigerian politician loses appeal against conviction in UK graft case

A Nigerian politician who was jailed in Britain for laundering tens of millions of dollars in stolen public funds through British banks and properties lost an appeal against his conviction in London on Wednesday.

James Ibori, who was governor of oil-producing Delta State in southern Nigeria for eight years, pleaded guilty in a London court in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering involving sums amounting to at least 50 million pounds ($66 million).

He received a 13-year jail sentence of which he served half, as is common in the British system.

Ibori, who is now back in Nigeria, appealed against his conviction alleging misconduct by British police and prosecutors which he argued tainted the judicial process. ($1 = 0.7567 pounds)