The United States of America (USA) government has returned to Nigeria $52.88 million in recovered assets linked to former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and her associates.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., signed an Asset Return Agreement between the two countries in Abuja on Friday.
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Mr Fagbemi said the execution of the agreement “concretises the repatriation of approximately USD 52.88 million,” which, according to him, arose “from the forfeiture of the Galactica assets” linked to Mrs Alison-Madueke.
Projects committed to developmental projects
The Nigerian government said the agreement is being executed to ensure that the returned assets are applied directly to developmental projects — rural electrification and counter-terrorism.
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“As agreed, USD 50 million of the repatriated funds will be utilised through the World Bank, to partly fund the Rural Electrification Project to increase the reliability and availability of renewable energy in Nigeria.
“While the balance of USD 2.88 million will be disbursed as a grant by Nigeria to the International Institute for Justice (IIJ) to support ‘the Rule of Law and Counter-Terrorism Project’ through counter-terrorism capacity building for Criminal Justice Sector Practitioners in East, West, and North Africa,” Mr Fagbemi explained.
He said that the projects will greatly enhance socio-economic growth and development, adding efforts have been put in place to ensure that the funds will be used judiciously.
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“Measures have also been put in place to ensure that the repatriated funds are not only disbursed but also utilised transparently and accountably by the World Bank and IIJ, with periodic reports to be forwarded to Nigeria and the US on the implementation of the projects,” he said.
“This robust framework will guarantee that the funds are effectively used for the full benefit of the Nigerian people in line with UNCAC and the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) principles.”
Recovery battle
Attributing the recovery achievement to the “unwavering commitment” of both nations to fight corruption, Mr Fagbemi thanked the US government “for their steadfast support and cooperation in this endeavour.”
“Your commitment to justice and the rule of law has been instrumental in making this agreement a reality,” he told the Ambassador of the United States to Nigeria, MrMills, imploring the US to demonstrate the same gesture in “other pending cases of repatriation so that the Agreements in relation thereto can be concluded as soon as possible, as Nigeria is in dire need of these refunds.”
The minister also attributed the signing of the agreement to President Bola Tinubu’s mission to “build a Nigeria that is free from the shackles of corruption, and to ensure available resources are devoted to the socio-economic development of our nation.”
The multi-million dollar offshore corruption
Mrs Alison-Madueke and businessmen Olajide Omokore and Kolawole Akanni were named in two civil cases seeking the forfeiture of various luxury assets that were proceeds of corruption offences and were laundered in and through the States.
“With the conclusion of the cases, the department has recovered roughly $53.1 million in cash – constituting the net liquidated value of the defendant’s assets – plus a promissory note with a principal value of $16 million,” the US Department of Justice said in 2023.
According to investigations by the US authorities, from 2011 to 2015, Nigerian businessmen Kolawole Aluko and Olajide Omokore conspired with others to pay bribes to Nigeria’s former Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs Alison-Madueke, who oversaw Nigeria’s state-owned oil company.
In return, Mrs Alison-Madueke used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts to companies owned by Messrs Aluko and Omokore.
The proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts totalling more than $100 million were then laundered in and through the United States and used to purchase various assets through shell companies, including luxury real estate in California and New York as well as the Galactica Star, a 65-meter superyacht. The real estate was also used as collateral for loans to Mr Aluko and shell companies he controlled. As part of the forfeiture process, those lien holders were paid.
Ex-Minister Alison-Madueke, Mr Omokore and Mr Aluko have also been subjects of criminal trials in Nigeria over related oil industry alleged corruption.
Mrs Alison-Madueke, who left Nigeria at the end of her ministerial tenure on 29 May 2015, is believed to be in exile in the United Kingdom..
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The American cases involving Mrs Alison-Madueke, Mr Omokore and Mr Aluko were brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.
In 2015, the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) formed International Corruption Squads across the country to address national and international implications of foreign corruption..
Mrs Alison-Madueke has been a subject of forfeiture proceedings and pending criminal charges in Nigeria.
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