The former Nigerian oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has appeared in a London court on Monday, October 2, to face charges of bribery and money laundering. She is accused of accepting bribes in exchange for multimillion-pound oil and gas contracts while in office between 2010 and 2015.
The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) said that Alison-Madueke allegedly received various forms of financial rewards, such as cash, cars, jets, holidays, properties, furniture, school fees, and designer goods, from companies and individuals who benefited from the contracts. The NCA said that it had frozen assets worth millions of pounds related to the alleged offences and had worked with partners in Nigeria and the US to recover more assets linked to Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption.
Alison-Madueke has denied the allegations and has been on bail since her arrest in London in 2015. She is also facing charges in Nigeria and the US for similar offences. She was the first female president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a close ally of former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan.
The NCA said that the charges were a milestone in a thorough and complex international investigation that spanned several jurisdictions and involved multiple agencies. The NCA said that it was committed to tackling serious and organised crime and holding corrupt officials accountable for their actions.
The trial is expected to last for several weeks and will hear evidence from witnesses and experts. Alison-Madueke faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted.