Former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison-Madueke has been charged with bribe taking by the United Kingdom (UK) police.
Allison-Madueke is alleged to have accepted £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties from oil and gas contractors.
Other gratifications listed against her by the International Corruption Unit of U.K’s National Crime Agency (NCA) are furniture gifts, renovation work and staff for the London properties, payment of private tuitions, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.
Allison-Madueke, who currently lives in St John’s Wood, an upmarket area of west London, according to Reuters, will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on October 2.
The 63-year-old Bayelsa-born former senior official of Shell Petroleum served as a key figure in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan administration between 2010 and 2015.
She also acted as president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The former minister has been on bail since first being arrested in London in October 2015.
Soon after her arrest, her family’s lawyer told Agence France Presse(AFP) that she would strongly contest corruption allegations that have dogged her during and after her time as a minister.
The family also announced that she had undergone chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Andy Kelly, head of the NCA International Corruption Unit, said: “We suspect Diezani Allison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.
“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.
“Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries.”
Kelly said that assets worth millions of pounds in relation to the case have been frozen as part of the investigation.
In March, the NCA which targets international and organised crimes, provided evidence to the United States Department of Justice allowing them to recover assets totalling $53.1 million linked to Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption.
The Federal High Court Abuja had in January 2022 issued a second arrest warrant against Allison-Madueke over money laundering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
