.As UK court grants her £70,000 bail
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has obtained an arrest warrant as it begins the extradition process of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, from the United Kingdom back to Nigeria, to face the 13-count charges bordering on money laundering levelled against her by the anti-graft agency.
The commission also disclosed that the money laundering charges for which Alison-Madueke is answerable to the EFCC cover jurisdictions in Dubai – the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Nigeria.
She appeared before the Westminster Magistrates Court in London over an alleged £100,000 bribe.
The district judge, Michael Snow, granted Alison-Madueke a £70,000 bail and further imposed other terms on the former minister including an 11 pm to 6 am curfew, an electronic tag to be worn by her at all times and a £70,000 surety to be paid before she could leave the court building.
In August, the UK’s National Crime Agency said it suspected Alison-Madueke had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.
It was gathered that an informal inter agency collaboration between the EFCC and the UK’s NCA led to the ongoing trial of Alison-Madueke at the Westminster Magistrates Court in London.
Diezani was the Minister of Petroleum Resources from 2010 to 2015 during the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. Before Jonathan handed over to President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2015, she left the country.
The EFCC alleged that the she stole $2.5 billion from the Nigerian government while serving as minister.
Meanwhile, spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, while welcoming Allison-Madueke’s arraignment in the UK Monday, said the EFCC in its bid to bring the former minister to trial in Nigeria, had obtained an arrest warrant and initiated extradition proceedings.
According to him, “The EFCC welcomes, with keen interest, the arraignment of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, at the Westminister’s Court in London, United Kingdom, following alleged bribery allegations.
“Although the charges preferred against her at the London court are diametrically different from the 13-count charges bordering on money laundering the EFCC has raised against her, it is instructive to note that criminality is criminality, irrespective of jurisdictional differences. No crime can go unpunished.
“The money laundering charges for which Madueke is answerable to the EFCC, cover jurisdictions in Dubai, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Nigeria.
“To bring the former minister to trial in Nigeria, an arrest warrant has been obtained and extradition proceedings have been initiated. The Commission is on course on her trial. She will soon have her day in our courts.”
Earlier in a statement published on its website, the NCA said Diezani “is alleged to have benefitted from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
Her charges 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.”
In March 2023, the NCA also provided evidence to the US Department of Justice that enabled them to recover assets totalling USD $53.1 million linked to Diezani’s alleged corruption.
Head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, said the “charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation. Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries. We will continue to work with partners here and overseas to tackle the threat.”
Bribery: UK court grants Alison-Madueke £70,000 bail
Meanwhile, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been granted bail by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, the United Kingdom.
63-year-old Alison-Madueke, who was charged to court in the UK with bribery offences, was granted bail after appearing before the court on Monday, October 2, 2023.
However, the former minister, while appearing at the court on Monday, spoke only to give her name, date of birth, and address.
According to Reuters, she was not asked to formally enter a plea, although her lawyer, Mark Bowen, told the court she would be pleading not guilty.
The charges against her, read out in court, all related to events alleged to have taken place in London.
Prosecutor Andy Young said Alison-Madueke was alleged to have accepted a wide range of advantages in cash and in kind from people who wanted to receive or continue to receive the award of oil contracts which he said were worth billions of dollars in total.
The advantages included a delivery of 100,000 pounds ($121,620) in cash, the payment of private school fees for her son, and the use and refurbishment of several luxurious properties in London and in the English countryside.
They also included the use of a Range Rover car, payment of bills for chauffeur-driven cars, furniture, and purchases from the upmarket London department store Harrods and from Vincenzo Caffarella, which sells Italian decorative arts and antiques.
Her next court appearance will be at Southwark Crown Court, which deals with serious criminal cases, on October 30.
Alison-Madueke is the second high-profile Nigerian politician to face prosecution in Britain in recent years, following former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, who was convicted of fraud and money laundering in 2012 and received a 13-year jail sentence.
Alison-Madueke was arrested in London in 2015, shortly after stepping down as minister, and was charged in August with six bribery offences.
She has spent the past eight years on police bail, living in St John’s Wood, an expensive area of London.
