A United Kingdom High Court has ruled in favor of the National Crime Agency (NCA) to seize a luxury property linked to Abigail Katung, the current Lord Mayor of Leeds, after concluding that the funds used for its acquisition were tied to suspicious financial transactions originating from Nigeria.
Delivering judgment on June 6, 2025, Justice Jay of the King’s Bench Division declared the property “recoverable” under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), effectively transferring possession to the British government.
Background: Transaction Under Scrutiny
The property in question was once owned by Mansoor Hussain, a British businessman previously investigated for allegedly laundering money on behalf of organized criminal syndicates in Northern England.
Records show that in 2015, Mrs. Katung entered a contract to purchase the £1 million residence, making an upfront deposit of £400,000 in two separate payments to Hussain’s account. That same year, her husband, Senator Sunday Katung, was elected to Nigeria’s House of Representatives.
However, the court raised serious concerns over the origin of £360,000 that was transferred from Nigeria. According to Mrs. Katung’s testimony, the money was sourced in part from a ₦120 million loan taken by her husband, and was moved abroad via Nigeria’s unofficial foreign exchange market, commonly referred to as the black market. She stated that due to foreign exchange restrictions introduced by the Buhari administration in 2015, she resorted to converting naira into foreign currency through a Bureau de Change (BDC) before transferring the funds to the UK.
The converted funds were reportedly deposited into the account of her company, 1st Resource Ltd. But when questioned, Mrs. Katung was unable to provide sufficient documentation proving the legal origin and movement of the funds.
Court Finds Evidence Inadequate
In his ruling, Justice Jay pointed to significant gaps and inconsistencies in Mrs. Katung’s explanation, stating that her testimony did not address critical aspects of the transaction, including the specific methods and intermediaries used.
“She has failed to do that,” he ruled. “Her witness statements did not adequately explain how the payments were made, nor was there any supporting statement from her husband. These are telling omissions from which I draw an adverse inference.”
An attempt by Mrs. Katung to validate the transaction through a letter from My Honey Oil Interbiz Ltd, a company she claimed facilitated the exchange, was dismissed. The court found that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had no record of the firm as a licensed BDC operator.
The judge concluded that the financial operation was designed to bypass Nigeria’s foreign exchange controls, describing it as “a business in foreign exchange transactions to circumvent Nigerian foreign exchange regulations and/or to avoid a punitive exchange rate.”
Deposit Forfeited, But No Criminal Intent Found
As a result, the court ordered the full forfeiture of the £400,000 deposit , denying any reimbursement to Mrs. Katung. The amount was also declared “recoverable property” under POCA.
“No credit falls to be given for the value of the deposit payments made by Mrs. Katung,” the judgment read.
While emphasizing the financial irregularities, Justice Jay stopped short of accusing Mrs. Katung of willful criminality, stating:
“I do not find that she was cognisant of what Mr. Hussain was up to,” thereby shielding her from implications of knowingly associating with criminal elements.
Nonetheless, the ruling allows the NCA to take full possession of the property and pursue further financial recovery if deemed necessary. The court also ordered Mrs. Katung to pay the agency’s legal costs and instructed both parties to finalize the forfeiture order.
Profile of Abigail Katung
Mrs. Katung, originally from Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria, relocated to the UK in 2000 to pursue higher education at the University of Leeds. Her political rise culminated in her historic election in 2024 as the 130th Lord Mayor of Leeds, making her the first Black African to hold the ceremonial role in the city’s history.
“Since arriving in Leeds in 2000, the city quickly became my cherished second home,” she said during her inauguration.
Her husband, Senator Sunday Katung, currently represents Kaduna South Senatorial District in Nigeria’s National Assembly.
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