![[ICYMI] FBI sues ex-NNPC official in $2.1m bribery case](https://premiumpolitics.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/FBI.jpeg)
A former Nigerian oil official, Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, faces charges in the United States for allegedly taking a $2.1 million bribe from a Chinese company.
Okoronkwo, 67, who is also a lawyer in Los Angeles, was indicted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation on five counts, including money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice. He is due to appear in court soon.
The indictment alleges that Okoronkwo, who has dual US and Nigerian citizenship, was a general manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in 2015. He received a payment of $2,105,263 from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of Sinopec, a Chinese state-owned oil giant. The payment was supposedly for his legal services as a consultant who helped Addax settle a dispute with the NNPC over its drilling rights in Nigeria. Addax feared losing billions of dollars if it did not secure favorable terms for its oil operations.
However, the indictment claims that the payment was actually a bribe to influence Okoronkwo to use his position to benefit Addax. The indictment says that Addax and Okoronkwo tried to hide the bribe by signing an engagement letter with a fake address in Nigeria and by lying to an auditor and firing a whistleblower. Okoronkwo also allegedly deposited the bribe in his law firm’s trust account to make it look like client funds.
The indictment further alleges that Okoronkwo used part of the bribe money to buy a house in Valencia in 2017. He also failed to report the bribe income on his tax return in 2015. He lied to investigators when they questioned him in 2022.
Okoronkwo is presumed innocent until proven guilty. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison for each money laundering charge, 10 years for obstruction of justice, and five years for tax evasion.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the IRS. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs is assisting. The prosecutor is Assistant US Attorney Alexander B. Schwab.
