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LONDON. – Nigeria’s former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been charged with bribery offences in the UK.
She is suspected of accepting financial rewards for awarding multi-million dollar oil and gas contracts.
A key figure in ex-president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, she also served as the first female president of the oil exporters group Opec.
The 63-year-old, who has been on bail since her arrest in London in 2015, has denied corruption allegations.
Assets worth millions of pounds relating to the alleged offences have been frozen as part of an ongoing probe by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation,” Andy Kelly, from the NCA’s International Corruption Unit, said.
The NCA says Alison-Madueke, who served as oil minister from 2010 until 2015, is alleged to have benefited from:
At least US$127 000 in cash
Chauffeur-driven cars
Flights on private jets
Luxury family holidays
Use of multiple London properties
Furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties
Payment of private school fees
Gifts from designer shops.
The US Department of Justice has been able to recover assets totalling US $53.1m linked to Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption thanks to evidence provided by the NCA in March, the agency says. – The Star Kenya
Online Reporter