₦airaland Forum

Former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is being investigated for a series of multi-billion dollar fraud and money laundering offences in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and America has threatened to squeal on his co-conspirators, Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore.

She said after opening up on everything that transpired in the controversial fraudulent transactions, she would be ready to be thrown in jail along with her co-conspirators.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke explosive comment is contained in a recorded conversation recovered by investigators probing the corruption allegations against the former minister.

Details of the conversations have now been filed as part of a civil complaint by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) seeking the forfeiture of over $144 million slush fund.

The trio of Mrs Alison-Madueke, Mr. Aluko and Mr. Omokore were listed as persons of interest in the civil complaint filed at the US District Court, Houston, Texas .

The complaint revealed how the three individuals laundered millions of dollars on behalf of Mrs Alison-Madueke, which was used in buying properties in the US and the UK for her family in return for oil contracts to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd (AEDC) and Atlantic Energy brass Development Ltd (AEBD), two shell companies owned by Mr Omokore.

In the conversation with Mr Aluko recorded by herself on May 14, 2014, a clearly angry Mrs Alison-Madueke, admitted to helping his co-conspirators secure the multi-billion dollars Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) deals.

In another conversation with another unknown recipient, the former minister dared Mr. Aluko to reveal details of their dealings, and then face the consequences.

She was however furious at how the ostentatious acquisitions of Messrs Aluko and Omokore might have led law enforcement agencies across the world to their shady dealings.

She was particularly mad at Mr Aluko’s acquisition of a the Galatical Star, a $80 million “super yacht”, warning that he could have rented a yacht for two weeks instead of buying one.

“You and Jide [i.e., OMOKORE] had some of the most support that we could possibly give. At a time when we’re not doing anything else, we stuck our necks out regarding the SAA and we supported it. [INAUDIBLE] How the two of you have ruined it is incredulous and incredible to all of us,” she said.

“I spoke to you several times about your general behaviour, acquisition of assets, etc., asking you to be a bit more careful because [INAUDIBLE] will start following you. I remember we had this open discussion more than once. You kept telling me that there was no issue because you did it in a certain way, you did it in a certain—and I kept telling you that it doesn’t matter how you do it.

“Once you start acquiring, acquiring, acquiring at a certain level, then you’ll be—whether you like it or not, whether it was done in the most transparent—you understand?— manner or not, because they will want to trace where it came from. This is an age of terrorism,

“If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever. You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch, as we have been for some time, and where Atlantic [i.e., AEDC and/or AEBD] itself has been the subject of all kinds of speculation,” she said.

Apparently while the trio allegedly schemed to launder billions of naira that should have accrued to the Nigerian government all was not well with them. In the recorded conversation, Mrs Alison-Madueke, in response to speculations that Mr Aluko was going to blackmail her, threatened to spill the beans.

She said she was ready to reveal to Nigerians all that happened and was ready to follow Messrs Aluko and Omokore to jail.

“I said tell him [i.e., ALUKO] to bring everything out, and then you know what will happen? No problem, I will be happy to escort all of you to jail along with myself. I said, in fact, you’ll be shocked by what I will do. Because when it comes to that, I will come out and tell the Nigerian people this is what happened.

“Oh, yes, I will blame myself, but it [INAUDIBLE] place and everything. Anything they want to say, I am happy to go. But I will come out openly and say it so that they can judge me openly. And then all of us go and sit on the gate. Let us see who survived [INAUDIBLE], me or you,” she said.

Mrs Alison-Madueke also acknowledged that the furniture she was given by the duo of Messrs Aluko and Omokore was not worth more than $4million.

“The furniture they gave me didn’t come to more than four million dollars, altogether. [INAUDIBLE] it is truth. I was with [INAUDIBLE],” she admitted.

Mrs Alison-Madueke, who is reported to be receiving treatment for cancer in the United Kingdom, is already facing a series of multi-billion dollar fraud-related investigations by Nigerian and UK authorities.

Last February a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the forfeiture of N34 billion linked to her but stashed in several Nigerian banks.

Mr Omokore, an oil businessman, alongside some top officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is facing a nine-count charge of criminal diversion of about $1.6 billion of proceeds of sales of petroleum products belonging to the Nigerian government.

The Nigerian government is also seeking a world-wide freeze of multi-billion dollar assets owned by Messrs. Aluko and Omokore .
The assets include a $80 million “Super Yatch”, the Galatica and three private jets.




http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/237045-alleged-corruption-im-ready-go-jail-ex-minister-diezani-alison-madueke.html


Lalasticlala
mydn44

Andova:
Please house who knows about Resource Intermediaries Limited I am scheduled for an interview next week. Please how real are they? and what are their working environment like?

RIL, outsourcing firm, jst the way the company name is Intermediary.

They are real, but dnt know anything about their working condition.

google is your friend.

Frankiss44:
Then you know nothing about signatures and how it works.. There is already a case of verified dead people/ person on that list.. Do you really think it is possible for almost 200 thousand persons to be against a senator in his senatorial constituency? Of course no matter how bad someone is, there must be some people loyal to him.. To even get that amount of votes during election is difficult because of out lacklustre attitude to elections, then all of a sudden, out of the Blues, almost 200k signatures were gotten... Once this case gets to court, INEC will take its hands off it... This whole exercise will end in shambles and like many others, it will die a natural death... Abi nor be Nigeria we dey again?

Sometimes i wonder, reading some comment.

One thing i know is Dino will complete is tenure.

but pls dnt question how they were able to get the signature.

if over 115000 pple voted in less than 10hrs on election day, what stop them from gather such signature for a. period of one week



coming to this gathering of signature for recall process, it took them over a week to gather those signature, which am sure part of the signature might be forge.

NubiLove:
why didn't the Etisalat headquarters bail them out?

Bros,30-50% of N541b might have end up at Hakeem Bello Osagie pocket, if you happen to be the group head, at Etisalat HQ, will you take that path. it better they divest/liquidate their investment than bail out Etisalat nigeria, when such can still repeat itself in no distance time.

A fresh plot for the removal of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu is being hatched.

Some lobbyists, comprising “powerful” citizens, have allegedly visited London with the names of two likely candidates to succeed Magu, The Nation learnt.

The preferred candidates are a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and an Assistant Commissioner of Police, with the DCP highly-favoured.

Also, some unknown security agents have been combing Magu’s uncompleted bungalow in Karshi, an Abuja suburb, in search of some evidence.

The agents were said to have dug up a soak-away pit at the site – apparently in search of buried cash or some documents.

But the combing of the bungalow yielded no fruit as nothing incriminating was found.

The development, The Nation learnt, shocked the Acting EFCC chairman who was away in Malawi when the unknown security men invaded the uncompleted house.

There is also panic among investigators, in Magu’s household, and among his associates on the sudden search without warrant.

For the second time on March 15, the Senate rejected Magu as the substantive chairman of the EFCC following the reaffirmation of a report on him by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The DSS insisted that Magu cannot lead the country’s anti-corruption agency. Magu’s rejection has caused some disquiet between the Presidency and the Senate, with the latter demanding that the Acting Chairman should vacate the office.

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said in the light of Section 171 of the 1999 Constitution, the President can retain Magu without the Senate’s confirmation.

The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) led by Prof. Itse Sagay, has also advised the President to retain Magu, based on the provision of the constitution.

Arrayed against Magu are some forces in government, a few governors and members of the National Assembly who are said to be mounting pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve Magu of his job.

The anti-Magu forces allegedly hinge their advice to the President on the “need to avert a long-drawn crisis with the National Assembly over Magu.”

They are said to be “angry with Magu’s name and shame style” which has created political backlash for the President.

But the main complaint of the forces borders on their “inability of those in government to control Magu when it is necessary to apply the brakes.”

It was learnt that some of those opposed to Magu have secretly visited London with the names of the two candidates who they rate “as efficient as Magu”.

There were indications yesterday that the two candidates were undergoing some checks.

One of the candidates is believed to be close to a principal officer of the National Assembly.

The leakage of the search for Magu’s replacement has ruffled feathers in EFCC and among some government functionaries.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Some powerful forces have decided to prevail on the President to remove Magu, having been rejected twice by the Senate. They said Magu should not be treated as indispensable.

“Some of them are angry that the EFCC has been closing in on them and their associates. Others have outstanding reports against them.

“They are using likely conflict between the Presidency and the National Assembly as an excuse but they are out to protect class interest.

“Some of them have also been uncomfortable with the style of the EFCC chairman. They alleged that it might have political backlash for the President.

“If care is not taken, these powerful lobbyists may have their way. A principal officer of the National Assembly is said to be highly connected with one of the shortlisted candidates.

“The plot has been perfected in a manner that Magu’s removal might be a priority decision of the government before or when the President returns.”

The Nation learnt that there are five options on Magu, including outright sack or retirement to pave the way for his trial in court over the DSS report; redeployment to the police; foreign posting as a Defence Attache; and redeployment to Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC) as Director of Operations.




http://saharareporters.com/2017/06/13/security-agents-comb-site-new-push-against-magu

Lalasticlala

Noted

Putin is a learner.


Nigerians will survive , na today.

Bathing with salt and water comes to mind.

anyway anyhow, we go neutralize it here

Three former top officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority and a former special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan have been named in a massive foreign bribery scandal that has led to the conviction of a company and some of its top officials in Switzerland, PREMIUM TIMES can exclusively report today.

Dredging International Services (Cyprus) Ltd was sentenced to a fine of one million Swiss Francs and asked to refund 36 million Swiss Francs illegal profit after it was indicted for allegedly making illicit payments to a former Managing Director of the NPA, Adebayo Sarumi; a former Managing Director of NPA’s Eastern Ports, Felix Ovbude; a former Executive Director of Finance at the NPA, Abba Murtala Mohammed; and Daniel Afam-Obi, a former executive assistant to Sullivan Akachukwu Nwankpo who was ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s special adviser on technical matters.

Investigators believe Mr. Afam-Obi acted on behalf of Mr. Nwankpo.

While Messrs Sarumi, Ovbude and Mohammed allegedly collectively received $2.6million in kickbacks, Mr. Afam-Obi was said to have been paid $157,000 for unknown reasons. Another $18million dollar was passed to companies in which some yet unknown Nigerian officials have interests.

Dredging International Services (Cyprus) Ltd is part of a consortium which formed The Bonny Channel Management Limited that in turn entered into a joint venture arrangement with the NPA to form The Bonny Channel Company saddled with “creating and maintaining a safe navigational passage for all marine users to and in the Eastern Ports of Bonny Island, Onne, Okrika and Port-Harcourt”.

The NPA holds 60 per cent equity in the JVC while The Bonny Channel Management Limited consortium (comprising Dredging International, Vinci, IPEM and Dapesa Limited) has the remaining 40 per cent.

The bribery scheme

Each year, NPA awards the company contracts worth $70million without any open or competitive bidding as required by Nigerian law, and the firm is believed to have so far cornered jobs worth at least N717 billion.
Dredging International is a subsidiary of the Belgian group, Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering NV (DEME), which specializes in petroleum infrastructure and dredging, and has a turnover of two billion euros and employs 4,600 people worldwide. The French company VINCI is one of its main shareholders.



In an indictment dated May 1, 2017, the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPC) said between 2006 and 2011, the company wired huge bribes to the companies in which Mr. Sarumi and his colleagues were beneficial owners.

In addition, according to the document issued by Federal Prosecutor Alice de Chambrier, Dredging International, through its agent, transferred more than $18 million to nine offshore companies whose real beneficial owners are yet unclear. The companies are Noble Gate Projects Ltd., Liam Engineering Nigeria Ltd., Nianza Fze, Alfonsor Trading Corporation, Monogate Ltd., FIFC Management And Development Ltd., Reinex Bureau of Change Ltd, Annacro Ltd., and Agro Systems Ltd.

Dredging had through two of its executives – Alexandre Maes (Chief Financial Officer) and Christian Van Meerbeeck (Chief Legal Officer) – entrusted the treasury of its Nigerian project to a Geneva-based asset management company, Driancourt & Cie, and its director, Alain Driancourt. It was this asset management company and its director that executed the complicated foreign bribery scheme on its behalf.

In arranging the illicit scheme, Mr. Driancourt of the asset management firm, documents show, set up three offshore companies: Berndale Trading Ltd, with accounts with Credit Suisse and EFG Bank in Geneva, as well as Bayhill Finance Ltd and Dacklin Trading Ltd, each with an account with EFG Bank. The accounts were regularly funded by Dredging International. The payment orders were given by Alexandre Maes and Christian Van Meerbeck, then executed by Alain Driancourt.

The bribe payments, investigators said, began in 2007 after the NPA refused to pay Dredging International $43 million for dredging work already done. To recover this amount, the company elaborately organized the payment of several million dollars to executives of the NPA and other officials in the hope that that would push them to act.

And for five years, as indicated above, more $20million were wired to companies in which the named Nigerian officials are believed to be beneficial owners as well as to firms whose real beneficial owners are yet to be determined (also listed above).

As required by Swiss laws, the bank Credit Suisse alerted authorities to these suspicious transfers in 2011, and an investigation immediately commenced. The investigation was initially entrusted to Prosecutor Félix Reinmann and then to Olivier Thormann. Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan

Switzerland slams indictments

Dredging International tried to justify the payments, with its lawyer, Marc Henzelin, telling investigators, “Our clients admit to having engaged intermediaries close to the government in 2007 to ensure the security of the local personnel in the Delta when there were serious threats to their lives (kidnappings, attacks and immobilizations of boats etc.).

“At the same time, our customers found themselves in a situation of near-constraint when the Nigerian Port Authority, contractually obliged to pay nearly $ 50 million to operators, blocked the payments due. DISC regrets that it chose this solution at the time and has fully cooperated with the Swiss criminal authorities.” The subsidiary of the DEME group has since set up an “OECD” compliance system since the beginning of the criminal procedure in 2011.

Despite that explanation, the Swiss Prosecution Office indicted the company and mandated it to pay a fine of 37million Swiss Francs. The company’s officials directly involved in the bribery scheme were also convicted, with authorities saying Alexander Maes and Christian Van Meerbeeck failed to “verify the economic background of the payments they were ordering, even though the company operated in a country where the risk of corruption was notoriously high.”

Christian Van Meerbeeck received a bonus of 800,000 euros over the period, of which 40,000 was in connection with the Bonny Channel project. He will have to reimburse 56,000 francs out of this sum, and pay 5,000 francs in procedural costs. He is also sentenced to 12 days fine of 210 francs with suspended sentence.

Alexandre Maes received € 2.7 million in bonuses, including € 136,000 for Bonny Channel. He was ordered to pay 197,000 francs, plus 5,000 francs in procedural costs. He also received a 12-day fine with suspended sentence.

The asset management company, Driancourt & Cie, had earlier in August 2015 been ordered dissolved by regulatory authorities in Switzerland for its insufficient controls in view of the risks of corruption in Nigeria. Its director, Alain Driancourt, was also prohibited from practicing as a financial intermediary in the country.

The public prosecutor’s officers decided not to issue a compensatory fine against Mr. Driancourt in view of the bankruptcy of his company. He was however sentenced to 60 days fine of 150 francs per day with suspended sentence and will have to pay 1000 francs of procedural expenses.

Nigeria won’t prosecute

Switzerland said it sought assistance from Nigeria and that the then Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, replied that there was no case for criminal prosecution.

Sources at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed the anti-graft agency received a request from Switzerland on the matter. “We interrogated the named individuals, did other investigations and then forwarded our findings to the Attorney General’s office for onward passage to the Swiss embassy,” one of the investigators who handled the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.

“The difficulty we had then was that the companies into which the monies were paid were offshore ones, and they had no bank accounts in Nigeria. However, we sent our report to the Attorney General but we had no idea what he told the Swiss. We also did not hear back from the Swiss since then.”

Mr. Adoke, who is wanted by the EFCC in connection with the Malabu Oil investigation, has been out of Nigeria since the end of his tenure in May 2015, and could not be reached to comment for this story. A source close to him, however, quoted the former minister as saying everything he did while in office was in compliance with Nigerian laws.

The incumbent Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, did not answer or return calls. Neither did he reply a text message sent to him.

The Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, said she was not aware of the case, and that no one or agency had discussed the matter with her since she assumed duties at the Authority on July 18, 2016.

Indicted officials react

When contacted by telephone, Mr. Ovbude, who is a now managing consultant with Lagos-based Renaissance Consulting, first said, “I don’t know what they are talking about.” But when he was told that the company which paid the bribe had confessed, the former NPA official said, “I worked and many people worked. It’s one thing to say you are specifically in charge, but the issue can come up and you are exonerated.” When told that he was specifically mentioned in the charge and that Dredging International had been convicted, he said, “I am not told, I am not aware.”

Mr. Sarumi’s telephone failed to connect Friday and Saturday. But he later replied a text, saying he was traveling abroad and that our reporter should telephone him again at 2 p.m. Nigerian time on Sunday.

He kept that appointment, telling this reporter, “As far as I’m concerned, I am not aware of the matter you are talking about. I hope we were not named just because we represented NPA on the board of the joint venture company.”

He then requested PREMIUM TIMES to furnish him with documents detailing the indictments in Switzerland.

Mr. Afam-Obi is yet to answer questions sent to him via Facebook by our reporter while Mr. Mohammed could not be reached for comments.


http://saharareporters.com/2017/06/04/jonathan%E2%80%99s-aide-three-other-ex-nigerian-officials-named-20million-bribery-scandal

am sure around 97% will give you a yes.

cus Mummy are ready to sacrifice anything as far as their children is concern.

not talking of mummy of today.
that you see them with expensive wears, and now see their children with tattered cloth.
All they are after is deir own sexy look.

Following

blueandbirds:
Love has no boundaries..

bros, there is alway boundary.

am 99% sure, there is a sinister motive behind that marriage.

hopefully they will come back here and intimate us, when the igbo/naija guy finally achieve his aim, or was caught red handed in the process.

Gbangbalicious:
wanna go there to confirm? don't slam me, that just requires a yes or no answer.

so una don take everybody here to be an abusive person.

well it normal for the kidult and indomie generation.

enjoy.

ephi123:
hilarious

sadly, this prison is in a better condition than a lot of homes in Nigeria today.

exactly, reason behind my question

This will be of help to me as well.
Mak I spread mat sitdown beside op.
Most sch offer control, but few offer instrumentation.

Ejiod:
Who can supply bark of orogbo(bitter kola) tree or if u have bitter kola tree lets talk
2,000kg for N200,000..This is a continuous supply.Supplying it monthly at that rate to Nigerian breweries..Your cash is ready once its supplied.
Contact: Supply manager
09054591447

must it be within lagos or from anywhere, or at least neighboring states

Are you sure this is prison

Na this kind thing guys dey like

CeeCJay:
Thank you for the info.
I'm looking at Power Systems Engineering in Electrical dept,... Do lecturers often victimize students for some reason?
Please shed more light on Electrical Power Systems Engineering...I am not a northerner. What is your advice?

kindly reach out to this guy,


currently a MSC Power student

he will surely help out, with whatever info you need.

If you are not a northerners, your number one problem start from there.

2. Not able to communicate in hausa language, that another big problem.

I hope your PG engineering course is not Telecom, under electrical dept, if yes, prepare your mind for Four yrs.

as per lecture, ABU masters is full time, except few courses that are offer as PT.

however you and your colleagues are at liberty to adjust your timetable to suit your need, within thur - sat, but in agreement with your lecturer. as most of them are also studying or doing one research work or the other.

KOLA OSINOWO.

presently work with NOKIA.

he is a recipient of The Future Award.
A passionate nigerian.
https://facebook.com/kolaosinowo

JIDE ADEYEMI
CEO Big and Bold.
thou he is FORTIFIED.
but still within age range.

https://facebook.com/Jide.Adeyemi

This is someone who organised a program tag "DIRTY GREEN WHITE GREEN" Oct 1st 2007, is already 10yrs, how time fly. how I wish the program was a continuous one.
he is a passionate nigeria.

www.jideadeyemi.ng

The truth is we have alot of young leaders within our tribes, religion and industries, but the big question is,

IS OUR POLITICAL SPACE SAFE ENOUGH FOR THIS YOUNG, VIBRANT, ARTICULATE AND FUTURISTIC NIGERIAN YOUTH TO COME OUT AND VIE FOR POLITICAL POST.
.without money factor, and the safety of their immediate and extended family.

caleboxylic:
caleboxylic

weldone sir

New couples are face with diff challenges,

both parent are meant to be close to this couple for like 2yrs, not necessary visiting them regularly,

as that might cause discomfort as new couple need time and space to create their own heaven on earth, but thru regular calls, to check on them, ask them questions, whoever you call among them, ask him/her to give the phone to the partner, and he/she give you excuse the partner is not arnd or smtin, mostly on wkend or at night, that shld signal smthings to the parent.

cause one thing is, couple hardly speak to their parent, instead they talk to friends, and clergy.

if no valid reason for not handing over the phone to his/her partner, or feel reluctant to do so. parent can hang up, and call the other partner to know his/her whereabouts and as well ask question.

but presently, most parent are far from new couples, all in the name of not interfering in their marriage, till the marriage degenerate badly.

Just as in the case of this story.


Op well done sir.

weldone op, your story keep me awake for over an hour.
come and finish it.

Same day, nt too sure of it, but within 3-5 working days, that I can assure you.

visit immigration head office in Abuja.

Pls can you kindly put us thru, from obtaining the form, to this period. and what are the necessary documents we are to present.

Locked:
Memories tho! I applied for job in BAT twice, in 2014 and 2015, got to the 3rd stage both times, but my village people no gree make I great. Lol, I later gave up and online business came through for me and I found solace in it! Look at me today, I make $3000 dollars per month from Fiverr. The money I would have never tasted if doing a 9-5 job. Abeg, no room for paid employment in this country

point touch for your guy bros.

Shame of a Nation

You do well.
Encourage the younger generation

Naija i hail

CHANCEMAN:
Nothing is missing,differentiate between the NASS and the senate president.The vendor has stated his case,now we await that of the customs to throw more light on this issue.

Dnt get me wrong pls

who is the chairman of the NASS.

When you get the answer to my question, you can then quote me.