After Abachas death in 1998, the Nigerian government hired lawyers to track down the money. The billionaire was then shuttling London, Beirut and Dubai to attend to business issues until he finally settled for Paris as his new base where he was plucked to be part of Macrons France-Nigeria Business Council headed by Nigerian billionaire, Abdulsamad Rabiu. In 1969, Gilbert and Rose-Marie married. The Lebanese agreed to pay a $600,000 fine and return $66 million to the Nigerian government. Ronald Chagoury Jr: First of all, Eko Atlantic was initially built as a defence against coastal erosion for Victoria Island and parts of Lekki. Slack All Over Again. On Popular Bio, He is one of the successful Businessperson. Founder of the Chagoury Group, Ronald Chagoury was born in Nigeria on 8th January 1949. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov He earned the money being a professional Businessperson. 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In 2014, Arsan at Chagourys direction wired $30,000 to a third party and indicated on the wire information form that the funds were for a wedding gift, when he knew or should have known that the funds were reimbursement for making a political contribution to a campaign fund for a federal elected official. Nigerian businessman Ronald Chagoury is the latest African name to show up in the Panama Papers. An In-depth Guide on Web Scraping. During a 2013 dedication ceremony in Lagos, just after Hillary Clinton left her post as secretary of State, Bill Clinton lauded the $1-billion Eko Atlantic as an example to the world of how to fight climate change. As a noncitizen, he is barred from giving to U.S. political campaigns, but in 1996, he gave $460,000 to a voter registration group steered by Bill Clintons allies and was rewarded with an invitation to a White House dinner. (213) 894-4465. Chagoury told ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity at the time that he was miffed because his travel problems made him miss seeing the Lakers in the playoffs. He returned to hibernation for backing the wrong horse but recently began to stage a comeback hosting in Paris last July, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is the owner of the giant Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos and the groundbreaking Eko Atlantic City. What do you know about Ronald Chagoury? The idea behind it was how we could reclaim all the . When Chagoury's younger brother Ronald got married in 2007, Tinubu flew to Monaco for the wedding. Born in Lagos, Nigeria by immigrant parents in the 1930s, Gilbert hes all-in-all a Nigerian albeit of Lebanese blood and Ronald owned a number of great investments in Nigeria. Of course, thats his new home since he chose to leave Nigeria in 2015. 14 Followers. The US was pushing for the return of democratic rule in Nigeria; Abacha, meanwhile, was eager to have Nigeria taken off a US list of nations enabling drug trafficking, McHenry said. She did not answer questions about whether the Clintons recommended Eko Atlantic. For Ronald, sustainability. Based out of Lagos, Nigeria, Ronald Chagoury Jr. is a Representative of the Chagoury Group and Vice Chairman of Eko Atlantic, a division of the Chagoury Group. Gilbert Chagourys plans for the future include tying up the best of African industry to the resource needs of China, India and Latin America. The terminal handles wheat, maize and malt used for the brewing process. It cited terrorism-related grounds, a broad category that can apply to anyone believed to have assisted a terrorist group in any way, including providing money. He has used some of that money to build political connections. Arsan, a physician who worked as an assistant to Chagoury, admitted helping Chagoury reimburse others for contributions to political candidates. His website shows him shaking hands and laughing with Pope Francis. Buttering up Buhari Tinubu and Chagoury have helped each other out many times. Beneficial Ownership: Oil Fields OML 112 and OML 117 belongs to father of Niger State governor, INVESTIGATION: How Petronor OML Joint Venture was brokered, OML-29 Saga Knives out over $2.7 billion as 7 Nigerian banks battle in London court, How Defence products expanded Nigeria-Turkey trade volume. $200 million illegally earned by Shell from extensions of oil exploration leases. Sign up for real-time alerts and be notified of new editions! But I knew there was a vision for my life that was greater than I could imagine. I consider it a duty to give back.. His website shows him shaking hands and laughing with Pope Francis. He aims high, targeting resource-rich or vulnerable third-world countries, and then finds a way of attaching a puppet string to the neck of that countrys president. Chagoury wanted only to pass along insights on Lebanese politics, Corallo said, adding that nothing ever came of it and that Chagoury never talked to anyone at the State Department. He has donated in excess of $340,000 for the renovations of the Church of Our Lady of Lebanon in Paris, France. [], The new NNPC board of directors has once again given pride of place to those close to the president, who has made sure to put together a team that will please his would-be heir, Bola Tinubu, a candidate in the 2023 election. Ronald returned to Nigeria after his education. Founded by Gilbert Chagoury and Ronald Chagoury Jr., The Chagoury Group operates within a variety of areas, including construction, real estate development, hospitality, hotels, telecommunication, information technology services, manufacturing, insurance, international financing, catering, and flour mills, among others. He also has a position among the list of Most popular Businessperson. "Nigeria's Chagoury Group Named In Latest Panama Papers Revelation Okayafrica", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ronald_Chagoury&oldid=1120431670, California State University, Long Beach alumni, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 November 2022, at 00:10. His name is on a gallery at the Louvre and a medical school in. . He owns a seven-bedroom hilltop mansion in Beverly Hills in California, and he has a high-level network of friends from Washington to Lebanon to the Vatican, where he serves as an ambassador for the tiny island nation of St. Lucia. As a businessman, Mr.. Seyi and Ronald Chagouri are close business partners. Ciaran McEvoy Gilbert Chagoury, 75, who presently resides in Paris, France, paid $1.8 million to resolve allegations that he, with the assistance of others, provided approximately $180,000 to individuals in the United States that was used to make contributions to four different federal political candidates in U.S. elections. Your email address will not be published. His family conglomerate now controls a host of businesses, including construction companies, flour mills, manufacturing plants and real estate. Arsan agreed to pay $1.7 million in penalties to resolve the tax probe and to cooperate in the governments investigation. A year ago, after his visa application was denied, Chagourys mansion was put on the market, with an asking price of $135 million. Africa Intelligence uses cookies to provide reliable and secure features, measure and analyse website traffic and provide support to the website users.Apart from those essential for the proper operation of the website, you can choose which cookies you accept to have stored on your device.Either Accept and close to agree to all cookies or go to Manage cookies to review your options. Ronald Chagoury was born in Nigeria on 8 January 1949, the son of Ramez and Alice Chagoury, who had emigrated from Lebanon in the 1940s. He left in 2018. The Chagoury has a huge stake in Tin Can Island which was built byC&C Construction, an arm of the Chagoury Group, to service the growing demands of its flour mills. Bringing with him his experiences, Laurent continues to push the core values of The Chagoury Group. The State . Official websites use .gov You can modify or delete your notifications or summaries in your account. Clintons aide, Doug Band, even invited Chagoury to his wedding. They have four children. As a businessman, Chagoury has been a confidant of many African leaders and serves as ambassador of St Lucia, in the Americas. Ronald Chagoury (born 8 January 1949) is a Nigerian businessman, the co-founder (with his billionaire brother Gilbert Chagoury ), and CEO of the Chagoury Group . Through their ownership of the Chagoury Group, Gilbert Chagoury and family have an estimated wealth of $4.2 . Barely one year after its debut as a business-investigation-based newsroom, BUSINESS LEAKS has been invited by the UK-based financial crime platform Themis to speak INVESTIGATION: How 11 Maritime Surveillance Contracts in Niger Delta were awarded. Dating is to describe a stage in a persons life when he or she is actively pursuing romantic relationships with different people. The Chagoury Group of companies is headquartered in West Africa and its portfolio of activities include construction and property development, flour Mills, water bottling and purification, glass manufacturing, insurance, hotels, furniture manufacturing, telecommunications, IT, catering and international financing. The Lebanese also exported his service to yet another African country; this time Chad and its President Idriss Deby who in 2005 bestowed on the businessman a national honour the Ordre National du Tchad with the rank of Commander. At a time in Nigerias recent history, Chagoury, as a business magnate, was an all-powerful figure. Chagoury believes it was unfair for government officials to disclose the episode and to suggest that he was a potential threat, Corallo said. They have four children, Ramez, Gilbert-Antoine, Christopher and Anne-Marie. It is not in his principles to act as transporter to anyone.. [], The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, a radical Shiite organisation that claims millions of followers, is riven by power struggles and bitterly divided over whether to move into mainstream politics. [16] He has also donated US$10,000 to the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden in Beverly Hills, California. When Bands email was made public this month, Donald Trump pounced, calling the Chagoury episode illegal and a pay-to-play scheme. He sold shoes and cars in Nigeria, according to a biography on his website, before marrying the daughter of a prominent Nigerian businessman. Ronald Chagoury Jr: First of all, Eko Atlantic was initially built as a defence against coastal erosion for Victoria Island and parts of Lekki. Chagoury, who denied knowing the funds were stolen, paid a fine of 1 million Swiss francs, then about $600,000, and gave back $65 million to Nigeria; a Swiss conviction was expunged, a spokesman for Chagoury said. We need Gilbert Chagoury to speak to the substance guy re Lebanon. According to a deferred prosecution agreement with the government, Chagoury accepted responsibility for his role and conduct that resulted in violations of federal election contribution laws between June 2012 and March 2016 and agreed to cooperate with the governments investigation. Get the latest News and updates of issues from Nigeria, Africa and around the World, direct into mailbox. They live in Lagos, Nigeria. Yet others are Silhouette Furniture, Fleetwood Transportation, Glassforce, Ragolis Waters, Hyperia Internet, CKD Industries and Ideal Eagle Hospital which caters mostly to expatriate workers, including those of Royal Dutch Shell. To that endCalinehas launched multiple businesses including: After completing her studies in France, and in addition to running her own businesses,Calinejoined The Chagoury Group in 2010 to oversee the many upgrades and improvements that have continually been added to The Eko Hotel. Ronald Chagourys height Unknown & weight Not Available right. As part of his non-prosecution agreement signed in December 2019, LaHood also agreed to cooperate with the governments investigation and repaid the $50,000 to Baaklini. With a legion of political and business stooges, cronies and proxies working for him, he is able to conduct his affairs largely out of public glare while making several dress rehearsals to once again get his grip on the Nigerian presidency. In the mid-1990s, Chagoury donated nearly $500,000 to a voter-registration drive designed to help Democratic candidates, attended a White House dinner for premium donors, and met with high-ranking . The Justice Department also said Rep. Fortenberry repeatedly lied to and misled authorities during the investigation into illegal contributions made by Chagoury to his reelection campaign. Joseph Tanfani previously covered the Justice Department and Homeland Security in the Washington, D.C., bureau. Gilbert Chagoury however; elevated it to an art. Three ways to create your email notifications: Do not hesitate to create your own notifications according to your interests : better criteria narrows down the results. The 75-year-old Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent has been living in Paris, France since 2015, after he fell out of favor with the new political establishment in Nigeria led by President Muhammadu Buhari. The United States Justice Department on Tuesday, charged Nigerian billionaire, Gilbert Ramez Chagoury with one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false and misleading statements to federal investigators during an investigation into illegal contributions he made to the re-election campaign of Nebraska Republican Congressman, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. 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Others are Eko Hotel and Suites Lagos, Hotel Presidential Port Harcourt, Courdeau Catering, Convention Centre, Ideal Flour Mills Kaduna, Niger Delta Flour Mills, Grands Moulins Du Benin and Nigerian Eagle Flour Mills whose products include Semolina; popularly called Semo. His website shows him shaking hands and laughing with Pope Francis. He is one of the Richest Businessperson who was born in Nigeria. Typically, the person is told of the grounds for refusal, but not the details. His name is on a gallery at the Louvre and a medical school in Lebanon, and he has received awards for his generosity to the Catholic Church and St. Judes Childrens Hospital. He left Nigeria for Lebanon for his university education at College des Freres Chretiens. Now Ronald Chagoury's primary focus is finishing Eko Atlantic. Two years after the death of Abacha, a court in Switzerland convicted Chagoury for his involvement in what was globally seen as epic treasury looting and money laundering. Chagoury also contributed $1 million to $5 . They are also behind the over $6 billion Eko Atlantic project, which is an entirely reclaimed coastal city built in the upmarket Victoria Island area of Lagos and reserved exclusively for the high net worth individuals and corporate entities including some embassies. Welcome to the new world of Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent, Gilbert Ramez Chagoury. Two months ago, James Entwistle, then the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, wrote to Washington, asking permission to sign a 99-year lease. From the port, the grain is transported byFleetwood Transportation, another Chagoury Group company that operates like the Dangote Truck. "Lagos's population is growing to 25 million," he said. After a review, Chagoury was refused a visa to enter the US in 2015. 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