The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared that it is ready to testify against a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and oil barons, Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Punch gathered that evidence had been sent to the US Justice Department, as well as the UK’s National Crime Agency with a view to repatriating part of the $1.6bn allegedly stolen by Alison-Madueke, Aluko and Omokore.
Omokore, Aluko and four others are standing trial before a Federal High Court on nine counts of criminal diversion of about $1.6bn alleged to be proceeds of the sale of petroleum products belonging to the Federal Government.
While Omokore is currently in Nigeria, Aluko has continued to elude both local and foreign authorities for over a year and was last seen in Porza-Lugano, Switzerland, in 2016.
The key witnesses are a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Andrew Yakubu; the Managing Director, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited, Yusufu Matashi; as well as some officials of the EFCC.
Omokore and Aluko were accused of creating two shell companies in the British Virgin Islands — Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria and Atlantic Energy Brass Development — to handle their oil contracts.
Though the companies did not meet all the requirements set by the Bureau of Public Procurements, they were said to be given the contract through the influence of Alison-Madueke.
Apparently unable to meet the terms of their deals, the duo were allowed to produce and sell about $1.6bn worth of crude oil. They then allegedly created additional shell companies to launder the proceeds through the US and the UK, giving kickbacks to Diezani.
Meanwhile, Alison-Madueke has threatened to squeal on his co-conspirators, Aluko and Omokore.
The former minister, who is being investigated for a series of multi-billion dollar fraud and money laundering offences in Nigeria, said after opening up on everything that transpired in the controversial fraudulent transactions, she would be ready to be thrown in jail along with her co-conspirators.
Premium Times reports she was particularly mad at Mr Aluko’s acquisition of a the Galatical Star, a $80 million “super yacht”, warning that he could have rented a yacht for two weeks instead of buying one.
She said she was ready to reveal to Nigerians all that happened and was ready to follow Messrs Aluko and Omokore to jail.
Mrs Alison-Madueke also acknowledged that the furniture she was given by the duo of Messrs Aluko and Omokore was not worth more than $4million.
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