A former Nigerian oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, appeared in a London court on Monday, facing charges of accepting bribes, which included cash, luxury items, private jet flights, and the use of upscale British properties in exchange for granting oil contracts. Alison-Madueke held the position of Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 during the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan.
During her appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court, she provided her personal information and did not enter a formal plea, although her lawyer, Mark Bowen, indicated she would plead not guilty. This case marks the second high-profile prosecution of a Nigerian politician in the UK in recent years, following James Ibori’s conviction in 2012 for fraud and money laundering. Nigeria, being Africa’s top oil producer, has grappled with systemic corruption in its political elite, hindering development and preventing the equitable distribution of its oil wealth.
Diezani Alison-Madueke was arrested in London in 2015 shortly after leaving her ministerial post, and she was charged in August with six bribery offenses. She has spent the past eight years on police bail, residing in the affluent St. John’s Wood neighborhood of London. The charges against her, outlined in court, all pertain to alleged events that occurred in London.
The prosecutor, Andy Young, asserted that she accepted various benefits in cash and kind from individuals seeking or continuing to secure lucrative oil contracts, collectively worth billions of dollars. These benefits included a £100,000 cash delivery, payment of private school fees for her son, and the use and renovation of multiple luxurious properties in London and the English countryside. Additional perks encompassed the use of a Range Rover vehicle, chauffeur-driven car expenses, furniture, and purchases from high-end London department store Harrods and Vincenzo Caffarella, a seller of Italian decorative arts and antiques.
By FCCT Editorial Team freeslots dinogame telegram营销
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