Diezani warned Aluko against buying $80m yacht

..

Court documents filed by the US Department of Justice in Houston have revealed that Nigeria’s former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke tried to warn Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, her business partners against lavish spending, including splashing millions of dollars on a yacht.

“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,” she said to Aluko in a recorded conversation.

But her warning was not heeded as Aluko went on to buy Galactica Star, a luxury yacht, for $80m.



The yacht, a stupendous luxury on water, was once rented by Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce for close to a million dollars during a holiday last year. It also once hosted Beyonce’s 32nd birthday in 2013.

Both Aluko and Omokore are alleged to have paid bribes between 2011 and 2015 to Diezani who ensured that shell companies owned by the businessmen received billion-dollar contracts to sell Nigeria’s crude oil.

The oil swap contracts were a controversial barter arrangement which saw Nigeria use middlemen to sell crude oil in exchange for refined products. With local refineries under-performing, oil swap deals were used to shore up local demand for petroleum products.

Between 2010 and 2014, under Diezani’s watch, Nigeria was estimated to have channelled over 352 million barrels of oil worth a total of $35bn into oil swap deals.

But with the contracts mostly opaque, Nigeria reportedly lost more than $900m in crude oil swap deals between 2009 and 2012.

The deals came under severe scrutiny with former Central Bank Governor now Emir Muhammadu Sanusi describing them “not properly structured, monitored and audited.”

President Buhari cancelled the oil swap arrangement in November 2015, seven months after taking office.

The US Justice Department lawsuit has provided more insight into the scale of theft of Nigeria’s oil riches under Diezani Alison-Madueke’s watch.

The civil lawsuit, brought by DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, is seeking to recover $144m in assets, including a $50m luxury condo apartment in New York and the $80m yacht.

Prosecutors say both assets were proceeds from bribes paid by two Nigerian businessmen for lucrative Nigerian oil contracts. The lawsuit seeks the forfeiture of both assets.

Prosecutors claim that the businessmen, Kolawole Aluko and Olajide Omokore, laundered money through the US by purchasing lavish assets.

The $50m New York condo is at One57, located opposite Carnegie Hall in midtown Manhattan. The building currently holds the record for the most-expensive residential sale in New York following a $100.5m apartment purchase in 2014.

Aluko’s $50m condo is the 8th most expensive in the building, but following a loan default, his mortgage lenders are set to auction the apartment on July 19.

Aluko is also said to have purchased Galactica Star, a $80m 65-meter yacht which hosted Beyonce’s 32nd birthday bash in 2013.

Aluko’s yacht and penthouse are not the only items under scrutiny by the DOJ.

The government also alleges that Aluko, Omokore and others funded a lavish lifestyle for Alison-Madueke.

According to the allegations, they conspired to purchase millions of dollars in real estate in and around London for Alison-Madueke and her family members, then renovated and furnished these homes with millions of dollars in furniture, artwork and other luxury items purchased at two Houston-area furniture stores at Alison-Madueke’s direction.

According to Financial Times, the two are accused of buying a total of four residential properties in and around London worth $11.45m, and furnishing them with furniture, artwork and other luxury items.

“In one day in May 2012, Mr. Aluko was said to have wired $461,500 and $262,091 to two furniture stores in Houston from a Swiss bank account, on behalf of Mrs. Alison-Madueke, the civic complaint filed in the court claimed.

In return, the government alleges Alison-Madueke used her influence to direct a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to award Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) to two shell companies created by Aluko and Omokore: Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd. and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd. (the Atlantic Companies).

Under the SAAs, the Atlantic Companies were required to finance the exploration and production operations of eight on-shore oil and gas blocks. In return for financing these operations, the companies expected to receive a portion of the oil and gas produced.

However, according to the complaint, the Atlantic Companies provided only a fraction of the agreed upon financing or, in some instances, failed entirely to provide it.

The companies also failed to meet other obligations under the SAAs, including the payment of $120m entry fee.

Nevertheless, according to the allegations, the companies were permitted to lift and sell more than $1.5bn worth of Nigerian crude oil.

The government contends the Atlantic Companies then used a series of shell companies and intermediaries to launder a portion of the total proceeds of these arrangements into and through the U.S

Source; Punchng.com

I love all these technocrats.
CC LALASTICLALA
CC MYND44

Ehiscotch:
I love all these technocrats.

technocrooks appointed by Jonathan.

punchng.com/diezani-warned-aluko-against-buying-80m-yacht/

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/diezani-warned-aluko-about-buying-80m-yacht/205595.html.
See links.

Thank God it is not the EFCC that is exposing them. We for dey hear "witchunt" .

YourImaginaryBF:
technocrooks appointed by Jonathan.

They even had a cover up plan to cover their tracks.

This was a heist. They had a blueprint.
The oil swap contracts were a controversial barter arrangement which saw Nigeria use middlemen to sell crude oil in exchange for refined products. With local refineries under-performing, oil swap deals were used to shore up local demand for petroleum products. Between 2010 and 2014, under Diezani’s watch, Nigeria was estimated to have channelled over 352 million barrels of oil worth a total of $35bn into oil swap deals. But with the contracts mostly opaque, Nigeria reportedly lost more than $900m in crude oil swap deals between 2009 and 2012. The deals came under severe scrutiny with former Central Bank Governor now Emir Muhammadu Sanusi describing them “not properly structured, monitored and audited.” President Buhari cancelled the oil swap arrangement in November 2015, seven months after taking office.
Buhari why? They said it is a vendetta ; a witchunt.

Ehiscotch:

They even had a cover up plan to cover their tracks.

But there will always be a loose end that is not tied.

Technothieves

Waiting for FFK & Fayose to blame the North for this
.
The Buhari led administration have made mistakes that cost us bad but damn GEJ geared us towards recession.

Ehiscotch:

They even had a cover up plan to cover their tracks.

what Nigerians need is an iron fisted military dictator. Democracy is abused in Nigeria

GEJ once said "AMERICA WILL KNOW if such amount of funds were looted". CERTIFIED PROPHET.

Ehiscotch:
Waiting for FFK & Fayose to blame the North for this
.
The Buhari led administration have made mistakes that cost us bad but damn GEJ geared us towards recession.

no to talk of how the nations external reserves were depleted by almost $40billion in this man's 6years as President.

What surprises me most is that these criminals are not being made to pay for their crimes

Ehiscotch:
Waiting for FFK & Fayose to blame the North for this
.
The Buhari led administration have made mistakes that cost us bad but damn GEJ geared us towards recession.

whobethis... U blame GEJ..point noted but what has the buhari administration done with the money it has recovered

YourImaginaryBF:
no to talk of how the nations external reserves were depleted by almost $40billion in this man's 6years as President.

Oil money in circulation na im help keep our economy running. But as the price fell, revenue fell states couldn't pay salaries.
But nothing has changed much since Buhari came in ; the economy has gotten worse. It is now picking up the pace & hopefully by 2018 we would be up and out of recession.

Yeligray:
whobethis... U blame GEJ..point noted but what has the buhari administration done with the money it has recovered

When a bunch of idiots are in our judiciary?

Ehiscotch:
When a bunch of idiots are in our judiciary?

and who appointed those idiots?... GEJ?

Ehiscotch:
Oil money in circulation na im help keep our economy running. But as the price fell, revenue fell states couldn't pay salaries.
But nothing has changed much since Buhari came in ; the economy has gotten worse. It is now picking up the pace & hopefully by 2018 we would be up and out of recession.

i hope the anti-corruption fight continues. All looters must be brought to book.

Sometimes I'm tempted to ask God why he created me into this part of Africa. Burundi, Rwanda or Congo would have made my life much more good than inhibiting with heartless and ultra wicked souls in this country.

Here i am with no job,electricity, pipe born water,health facility,good roads and wallowing in abject poverty as a result of what my fellow citizens born same way like me has done to our country.

What pains me most is that some people will not see anything wrong in what these people did or doing instead they will defend them even with the last blood in their veins whenever Efcc goes after them.

I'm tired of this country, honestly.

Yeligray:
whobethis... U blame GEJ..point noted but what has the buhari administration done with the money it has recovered

Nigerians. Funds recovered cannot be spent until the court has ordered full forfeiture and the FG would have to include these funds in the budget like they did this year before they can be spent.
I do not if this current FG follow this procedure but this is the standard process.

Ehiscotch:
Nigerians. Funds recovered cannot be spent until the court has ordered full forfeiture and the FG would have to include these funds in the budget like they did this year before they can be spent.
I do not if this current FG follow this procedure but this is the standard process.

standard process?.. In Nigeria.. Guy u r funny oo..

Yeligray:
and who appointed those idiots?... GEJ?

But GEJ and his bandwagon of looters and every corrupt element in the APC are reaping off the system.

Wonder why nothing is going on through EFCC

Ehiscotch:

But GEJ and his bandwagon of looters and every corrupt element in the APC are reaping off the system.

so what you are trying to say is that no one in APC is corrupt

Ehiscotch:
Nigerians. Funds recovered cannot be spent until the court has ordered full forfeiture and the FG would have to include these funds in the budget like they did this year before they can be spent.
I do not if this current FG follow this procedure but this is the standard process.

Is there anything like a standard process in Nigeria.. Guy u funny oo

Ehiscotch:
Nigerians. Funds recovered cannot be spent until the court has ordered full forfeiture and the FG would have to include these funds in the budget like they did this year before they can be spent.
I do not if this current FG follow this procedure but this is the standard process.

standard process in Nigeria.. Guy you funny oo...

Yeligray:
so what you are trying to say is that no one in APC is corrupt

Didn't you see APC in the post?
APC houses corrupt immigrants from PDP and other elements from ACN, CPC and co.

Ehiscotch:
Didn't you see APC in the post?
APC houses corrupt immigrants from PDP and other elements from ACN, CPC and co.

so APC is full of saints

Yeligray:
standard process in Nigeria.. Guy you funny oo...

There is a standard process everywhere but it is not always followed.

Yeligray:
so APC is full of saints

aurevoir. I can see I have been wasting my time all the while.

Ehiscotch:
aurevoir. I can see I have been wasting my time all the while.

i'av been trying to make you see reason but too bad