KEY POINTS
- The Diezani Alison-Madueke bribery case is being tried in London.
- Prosecutors allege luxury spending funded by oil contractors.
- Nigerian trials run alongside the Diezani Alison-Madueke bribery case.
Nigeria’s former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is under renewed scrutiny at a London criminal court, where prosecutors detailed allegations that energy industry figures funded lavish spending and overseas living arrangements while she held office.
Jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard that Alison-Madueke spent more than £2 million ($2.75 million) at Harrods, with investigators tracing the payments to bank cards linked to Nigerian businessman Kolawole Aluko and his firm, Tenka Ltd. Prosecutors said the former minister enjoyed a personal shopper service typically reserved for Harrods’ highest-spending clients.
Alison-Madueke, 65, served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 and became the first woman to lead the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. She denies wrongdoing.
Diezani Alison-Madueke bribery case details luxury perks
Prosecutors told the court that Alison-Madueke lived in high-end UK properties staffed with full-time domestic workers, including a housekeeper, nanny and gardener. They said companies that held or sought lucrative contracts with Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, paid the costs.
“This case concerns bribery related to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria between 2011 and 2015,” prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC said. She added that contractors provided “significant financial advantages” to Alison-Madueke while pursuing business with the NNPC and its subsidiaries.
Furthermore, evidence presented included photographs of a Buckinghamshire property known as The Falls, acquired in 2010 by Atlantic Energy, a company linked to businessman Olajide Omokore. Prosecutors said Alison-Madueke had exclusive use of the house, with staff and renovation costs covered by Tenka Ltd. Court filings also showed about £500,000 paid in rent for two London flats occupied by Alison-Madueke and her mother.
Diezani Alison-Madueke bribery case spans UK and Nigeria
UK authorities charged Alison-Madueke with bribery offences in August 2023 following a National Crime Agency investigation. Prosecutors allege she benefited from cash payments exceeding £100,000, private jet travel and luxury holidays.
Parallel proceedings continue in Nigeria. Omokore and other defendants face trial over the alleged diversion of about $1.6 billion in oil revenues. Omokore has denied buying properties or vehicles for Alison-Madueke, describing their relationship as strictly professional.
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it recovered $153 million and 80 properties valued at $80 million linked to Alison-Madueke in 2021. A 2017 EFCC report traced $487.5 million to her, though only a small fraction has been forfeited.
