Sixty-three-year-old former Nigerian minister of petroleum resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been charged with bribery offences in the UK.
Reuters reported that the UK police said yesterday (Tuesday) that they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.
Alison-Madueke served during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, from 2010 to 2015.
Speaking about the charges, the head of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) International Corruption Unit, Andy Kelly, said: “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.
“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.”
The NCA said the former minister was accused of benefitting from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
The charges against her also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.
The British police said she was currently living in St John’s Wood, an up market area of West London, and would appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on October 2, 2023.
Recall that Alison-Madueke is also being tried in absentia in Nigeria for alleged corruption since she left office in 2015.
In October 2022, Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the final forfeiture of two Abuja properties and two luxury cars belonging to Alison-Madueke, to the federal government.
The two properties are located at Plot 1854 Mohammed Mahashir Street and No. 6, Aso Drive in Abuja’s highbrow Asokoro and Maitama Districts, respectively, and are valued at $2,674,418 and N380 million.
The luxury cars are a black BMW saloon with chassis number B8CV54V66629 and registration number RBC155 DH and a black Jaguar saloon with chassis number SAJAA.20 GRDMv43376, valued at N36m.
The judge gave the order forfeiting the assets to the federal government while ruling on the application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, in Suit No. 1122/2021 and Suit No. 1123/2021, asking for the final forfeiture of the assets.
In March 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the recovery of over $53 million fraud proceeds involving Diezani Alison-Madueke, two others – Messrs Olajide Omokore and Kolawole Akanni.
“With the conclusion of the cases, the department has recovered roughly $53.1 million in cash – constituting the net liquidated value of the defendant’s assets – plus a promissory note with a principal value of $16 million,” the U.S. Justice department said in a statement.
The court’s court documents from 2011 to 2015 revealed that Nigerian businessmen Aluko and Omokore conspired with others to pay bribes to Alison-Madueke, who oversaw Nigeria’s state-owned oil company.
In return, the former minister used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts to companies owned by Messrs Aluko and Omokore.
The proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts totaling more than $100 million were then laundered in and through the United States and used to purchase various assets through shell companies, including luxury real estate in California and New York as well as the Galactica Star, a 65-metresuper yacht.
In May 2023, Diezani Alison-Madueke sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the FCT High Court for N100 billion for alleged defamation of character.
In the suit marked: CV/6273/2023 and filed at the FCT High Court through her legal team led by Mr. Mike Ozekhome, the erstwhile minister alleged that the commission had on December 16, 2021, made a publication against her that was captioned; “Diezani: EFCC uncovers additional $72.8 million.”
Besides, she said the Commission had in 2017, caused to be published, an article, entitled: “Unbelievable!!! EFCC traces N47.2 Billion, $487.5 million to ex-Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.”
She prayed the court for “An order directing the defendants jointly and severally to pay to the claimant the sum of N100,000,000,000.00 only as damages for the false, injurious, malicious and libelous publications against the claimant in the 1st defendant’s publishing platform, and at the instance of both the 1st and the 2nd defendants.”
