- Safiu Kehinde
A former official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, has been convicted of money laundering with his $2.5 million worth mansion in Los Angeles, California, forfeited to the United States Government.
Okoronkwo, a former general manager in the NNPC’s upstream department, was last year arraigned to court by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
He was arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on transactional money laundering, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice.
The ex-NNPC official who was dismissed by the company over his involvement in the scandal, was alleged to have received a bribe of $2.1m from a Swiss company, Addax Petroleum, while in the service of the corporation.
According to reports, the scandal dated back to May 25, 2015, days before former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, was billed to leave office after his defeat.
Okoronkwo and other NNPC officials were reported to have hurriedly entered into an agreement that would see Addax Petroleum return to developing Nigeria’s crude and gas reserves after a protracted pause due to a years long dispute over the 2001 deal between Nigeria and the Chinese firm.
Court documents said Addax Petroleum, based in Switzerland but owned by Sinopec, bribed Okoronkwo with $5,263,157.89, including an immediate payment of $2,105,263.16, in October 2015 after the new administration of Muhammadu Buhari threatened the May 2015 contract.
While the details of his conviction currently unavailable, the ex-NNPC official is at risk of 25 years’ imprisonment having been found guilty as charged.