She was a central figure in the Nigerian government of Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015. She will leave a much more negative imprint. Ex-oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been charged with corruption in the UK, a statement from Britain’s crime agency NCA said on Tuesday. Aged 63, she also held the presidency of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), specifies the NCA in a press release.
“The NCA suspects that she took bribes while she was oil resources minister, against oil and gas contracts worth millions of pounds,” the statement said. “These charges represent an important step in what has been a complex and comprehensive international corruption investigation,” said Andy Kelly, director of the NCA’s international corruption unit.
many gifts
The former politician is accused of having benefited from at least 100,000 pounds in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private planes, luxury holidays for her and her family, use of multiple residences in London, with also emoluments in furniture, renovation work, domestic workers, payment for private schools, gifts from high-end designers such as Cartier or Louis Vuitton, lists the NCA.
The first woman president of OPEC has always denied having embezzled millions of dollars from juicy oil contracts and state coffers when she was in office. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who currently lives in London’s affluent St John’s Wood area, will appear in a London court on October 2.
Several surveys around the world
She is the target of several investigations for money laundering and corruption in the United States, the United Kingdom or Italy and is one of the preferred targets of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria. The Nigeria Anti-Corruption Agency (EFCC) accuses Diezani Alison-Madueke of having distributed a total of 23 billion naira (28 million euros) in an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.
She had been arrested in October of the same year in London, where a court ordered the freezing of five luxury properties linked to her business, before being released on bail pending trial. Several houses and apartments in Lagos and Abuja belonging to him have also been seized by the Nigerian courts in recent years.