Wall St. Giants Seek a Piece of Nigeria’s Sovereign Fund

Nigeria, the West African nation that has gained notoriety for the illicit e-mail spammers aiming for Western bank accounts, is attracting attention for legitimate financial opportunities — investing its own savings.

Alderman: SFO Is Not Looking At Banks In Sovereign Fund Probe

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office stands ready to assist the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with inquiries into whether financial firms violated foreign bribery laws in their dealings with sovereign-wealth funds.

But as of Friday, the office wasn’t looking into specific banks, SFO Director Richard Alderman said in a statement to Bloomberg. The statement runs counter to the news service’s report Wednesday that said the SFO was already helping U.S. authorities in the probe, citing an interview with Alderman himself.

U.K. Prosecutors to Assist U.S. on Fund Bribery Probes

U.K. prosecutors are assisting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on inquiries involving financial institutions and whether bribes were paid in transactions with sovereign wealth funds.

The Serious Fraud Office, which prosecutes corruption and white collar crime in Britain, has been contacted by the U.S. regarding the probes, SFO Director Richard Alderman said in an interview yesterday.

“We’re talking to the Americans about various issues,” Alderman said, without specifically identifying the companies.