London, UK
Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum, has been charged with bribery offences by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA).
The British police said this on Tuesday, according to Reuter.
Alison-Madueke had been charged with bribery offences, saying they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.
“We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts,” Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) International Corruption Unit, said.
“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.”
The NCA said she was currently living in St John’s Wood, an upmarket area of west London, and would appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Oct. 2.
It said Alison-Madueke was accused of benefiting from at least 100,000 pounds ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
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 NCA said.
It added that assets worth millions of pounds relating to the alleged offences had been frozen and that it had provided evidence to the U.S. Department of Justice that enabled them to recover assets worth $53 million linked to Alison-Madueke.
Nigerian courts have also ordered the seizure of tens of millions of dollars worth of assets including properties, cars, large quantities of jewellery and a gold iPhone in a series of rulings in recent years.
The former minister played a key role in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Alison-Madueke, 63-year-old, once acted as President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) during her term as Nigeria’s oil minister.
