Ibori His assets acquired with the fraud proceeds will, consequently be confiscated and returned to Nigeria.
Ibori, governor of the oil-rich Delta State between 1999 and 2007, opted for a plea bargain with his British prosecutors in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence.
His trial was originally scheduled to commence in London’s Southwark Crown Court on February 27 only for him to admit defrauding the state to the tune of $79 million.
The court heard of how Ibori, during his tenure as governor, racked up credit card bills of $200,000 a month and owned a fleet of armoured Range Rovers.
He was on the verge of buying a plane for $20 million when he was arrested in 2010 in Dubai at the request of the Metropolitan Police and extradited to London last year.
Prosecutor Sasha Wass told the court Ibori had accepted he was involved in "wide-scale theft, fraud and corruption when he was governor of Delta State".
He was alleged to have used a false date of birth to conceal previous convictions so that he might not be prevented by law from contesting the governorship election. "Mr Ibori tricked his way into public office. He had tricked the Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian voters. He was thus never the legitimate governor of Delta State," said Wass.
Police detective, Paul Whatmore said : "We are pleased with today’s guilty pleas which mark the culmination of a seven-year inquiry into James Ibori’s corrupt activities. We will now be actively seeking the confiscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the benefit of the people of Delta State."
His wife, Theresa; sister, Christine Ibori-Idie; associate, Udoamaka Okoronkwo; and London-based solicitor, Bhadresh Gohil have all already been convicted of money laundering.
The British police had earlier dropped corruption charges levelled against Ibori, leaving him to face money laundering charges.
Ibori-Ibie and Okoronkwo-Onuigbo were later sentenced to 21 years in prison in London for their different roles in the case.
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