#BBB NEWS| EFCC Probes Diezani Over N4b Hotel Deal With Ex-MILAD

Detectives have uncovered another multi-billion naira transaction believed to have been carried out by former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is probing a N4billion hotel deal between Mrs. Alison-Madueke and a former military administrator, whose identity is yet to be released “so as to protect the investigation”.

The hotel may be placed under Interim Forfeiture as soon as the preliminary investigation is concluded, The Nation learnt.

But detectives of the anti-graft agency have secured the relevant papers on the hotel valued at N4billion

Also, it was gathered at the weekend that some business associates of Mrs Alison-Madueke were yet to refund to the EFCC about $1.85billion traced to them.

#BBB NEWS| N23bn Diezani Bribe: EFCC Declares Billionaire Businessman Benedict Peters Wanted

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared billionaire businessman and Managing Director of Aiteo Group, Mr. Benedict Peters, wanted for his alleged role in the $115m (N23bn) bribe given to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, during the build-up to the 2015 election.

The EFCC said in an official gazette signed by its spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, that Peters was wanted for criminal conspiracy, diversion of funds and money laundering.

The notice read in part, “Dark-complexioned Peters is wanted in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy , diversion of funds and money laundering. He hails from Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. His last known address is 8B Agodogba Avenue, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.”

Peters is alleged to have given Diezani about $60m during the build-up to the 2015 presidential election.

The EFCC had alleged that the MD of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, helped Diezani convert $115m to N23bn after which it was disbursed to INEC officials.

#BBB NEWS| EFCC Seizes Ex-Oil Minister Diezani’s N3.58bn Abuja Home [PHOTO]

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized a mansion worth N3.58bn ($18m at the official exchange rate of N199 to a dollar) in the Asokoro area of Abuja allegedly belonging to the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, said this during an interview with Al-Jazeera, a Qatar-based news network.

Magu, in the interview, monitored by our correspondent on Monday, noted that the items in the house included jewellery, furniture, and a bulletproof gym worth about $2m.

He stated that the house was part of the $10bn in cash and assets that had been seized by the Federal Government in the last one year.

“We have been able to take on a lot of big shots that were hitherto untouchable in the three arms of the military, political class. We have recorded 164 convictions in just one year,” he said.

#BBB NEWS| Alison-Madueke Returns To UK Court Over Seized Cash

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke will today return to the Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London to answer for money laundering and bribery allegations.

She was first arraigned in the court last October.

Mrs Alison-Madueke was arrested along with four others by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA). She was granted bail  and told to come back today for a decision to be taken on the £27,000 seized cash and other charges made against her.

The court ruled in October 2015 that the cash can be held for six months before she is arraigned after investigations.

The court also granted the order that she should remain in London while investigations last.

The NCA, which leads the UK law enforcement’s fight to cut serious and organised crime, is working in league with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the probe of the former minister.

#BBB NEWS| NASS Invites Alison-Madueke To Explain Roles In Crude Oil Swap

The House Representatives committee on Crude Oil Swap on Monday formally invited the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Alison – Madueke, to come and make clarifications on the crude oil swap arrangement under her supervision.

In a letter dated February 22, 2016 and signed by the Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, the former minister is expected to appear before the lawmakers on Wednesday, March 2, to explain her role in the product swap arrangements with oil marketing companies.

The letter which was sent through the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) reads:

#BBB NEWS| Diezani Approved $24bn Crude Swap Without Contract - Former GMD Of NNPC

A former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Austin Oniwon, confirmed on Tuesday that there was no formal contract between the NNPC and trading companies that lifted $24bn worth of crude oil from the country between 2011 and 2014.

Oniwon told the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Crude Oil Swap that a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, merely granted the “extension” of an earlier contract.

He said the extension was not a formal contract before he (Oniwon) left office in 2012.

The committee is chaired by an All Progressives Congress lawmaker from Kwara State, Mr. Zakari Mohammed.

“There was an approval for the extension by the minister; I believe the records are with the NNPC,” he added.

#BBB NEWS| EFCC ‘Investigating’ Okonjo-Iweala, Diezani, Aluko

The former Minister of Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in connection with corruption cases perpetrated during the last administration, the chairman of the anti-graft agency, Ibrahim Magu, said on Monday.

Magu, who spoke during the budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, added that a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, is also under the EFCC radar.

Kola Aluko, a close associate of the former Petroleum minister, alleged to have helped in taking a large chunk of the nation’s funds out of the country, is also being investigated by the commission.

Magu, who responded to questions by a member of the committee, Hon. Razak Atunwa , on whether the two  ex-ministers and Aluko were included in the EFCC investigative list, said “very soon, we will go into the petroleum industry.”

#BBB NEWS| Ex-Nigerian Oil Minister Plotted To Flee To The Commonwealth of Dominica Before UK Arrest

Embattled ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is on the verge of leaving her present abode in the United Kingdom for the Commonwealth of Dominica where she has reportedly acquired the citizenship.

Mrs.Alison-Madueke  is currently  under investigation  in Britain for alleged corruption while in office.

Investigators in the UK and  Nigeria were shocked by the discovery that she had secretly  acquired the citizenship of the small Caribbean country  of only 72,000 people.

But sources in the UK said  the National Crime Agency (NCA) was already  keeping monitoring   her movement.

It was learnt that the lid was blown open by some anti-corruption and civil society groups in the UK.

#BBB NEWS| AfDB Top Job: You Are A Liar, Sanusi Tells Diezani

The former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN governor and Emir of Kano, Mohammed Lamido Sanusi has said the embattled former petroleum resources minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke is “lying” over claim that he (Sanusi) came to lobby her for help over his interest in African Development Bank, AfDB presidency but came up with $20bn missing oil fund allegation because he lost out in getting the job.

Sanusi, speaking with Sunday Telegraph, said Diezani, battling breast cancer, was being economical with the truth in her interview with thebossnewspaper.com on his interest and how he lost the opportunity to head the continental financial institution.

Sanusi said it was not a hidden fact he expressed interest in the AfDB job when the position became vacant. He noted that while he expressed lack of interest in a second term as CBN Governor, he wrote a letter to former President Goodluck Jonathan and the Senate and also discussed his AfDB ambition extensively with the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke.

#BBB NEWS| Fugitive Oil Tycoon Kola Aluko Admits Paying UK Rent For Alison-Madueke’s Mother

Kola Aluko, a Nigerian oil magnate now wanted in the UK for money laundering, has admitted that he paid rent for a high-end apartment for the mother of a former minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Mr. Aluko told the British Sunday Times newspaper that he was responsible for paying rent for Mrs. Beatrice Agama, the former minister’s mother. He also said he ensured that food was brought to the minister’s mother at the  St. John’s Wood property.

Last month, a UK court approved the confiscation of funds belonging to Mrs. Agama. The court also authorized the seizure of funds belonging to Melanie Spencer, the wife of a Ghanaian oil tycoon, Kevin Okyere, implicated in the money laundering investigation involving the former minister.

According to the report in The Sunday Times, “Aluko confirmed a probe over potential violations of the UK Proceeds of Crime Act and Bribery Act but professed his innocence. He said: ‘I’m willing to co-operate with anybody. I have nothing to hide.’”

#BBB NEWS| Kola Aluko, Money Launderer For Alison-Madueke, Jonathan, Holed Up In Swiss Estate | SR [PHOTOS]

SaharaReporters has obtained photos and details of a multi-million dollar home in Switzerland owned by Kola Aluko, a suspected money launderer for former President Goodluck Jonathan and Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Mr. Aluko’s palatial home is nestled in the beautiful canton of Ticino, in southern Switzerland. Ticino is renowned for its mild winters and boasts some of the highest number of sunshine hours in Switzerland.

In a week when UK law enforcement authorities arrested Mrs. Alison-Madueke in London and agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) searched her homes in Nigeria, Mr. Aluko was reportedly holed up in his Swiss mansion located at Catonale 17, 6948 Porza in Tocina, according to a source familiar with his whereabouts. Mr. Aluko is famous as one of the hitherto obscure individuals dusted up by the former Petroleum Minister to be fronts for her shady billion dollar schemes in the oil sector.

A flamboyant man, Mr. Aluko relished his meteoric rise to stupendous wealth, purchasing villas, expensive cars, and a yacht, dating former supermodel Naomi Campbell, and partying with movie and entertainment stars in the UK, Europe and the US.

#BBB NEWS| How N3.7bn UK House Put Diezani Alison-Madueke In Trouble

There were indications on Monday on how a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and a former Managing Director of a parastatal under the NNPC got themselves into trouble with the police in the United Kingdom.

The PUNCH learnt that the purchase of houses each in London by the former minister and the sacked NNPC top shot had sent the police investigators after them since 2013.

Alison-Madueke and the ex-MD had bought a house each in London through a mortgage but the two were said to have attracted suspicion when they offered to pay huge sum to clear the mortgage on the properties.

A source said the ex-minister’s house cost £12.5m. The source was however silent on the cost of the house bought by the former MD of the subsidiary of the NNPC.

It was learnt that the UK’s National Crimes Agency had dispatched a team to Abuja for an investigation into the incomes of the affected public officers because of the huge amount of money that was being paid steadily to defray the amount on the mortgage.

#BBB NEWS| Jonathan, Diezani Face Probe Over $6.9m Campaign Stages

The ongoing probe of the immediate past administration by President Muhammadu Buhari is to beam its searchlight on the alleged purchase of three mobile stages, costing $6.9m, by former President Goodluck Jonathan and two of his officials, a Presidency source has said.

According to a document, which was obtained from the Presidency on Saturday, the deal, which is now a subject of investigation, was allegedly carried out by Jonathan; his Chief Security Officer, Mr. Gordon Obuah; and former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The fund was said to have been withdrawn from one of the numerous accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

The $6.9m (about N1.37bn) was said to have been withdrawn for the purpose of buying three pieces of 40-feet mobile stages for use by Jonathan during mass public speaking events.

#BBB NEWS| Why Diezani Alison-Madueke Must Be Probed — Festus Keyamo

Barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed all the members on the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, has reiterated his call for the erstwhile Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to be probed.

Keyamo had, on June 17, written a letter to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives asking the National Assembly to commence investigations into the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, especially with regard to the crude oil swap programme and offshore processing agreements of the company.

He alleged that some NNPC officials, in collaboration with some local companies, were looting the country’s resources.

In an interview with Sahara TV on Saturday, Keyamo said there was an array of issues necessitating investigations into Alison-Madueke’s management of the ministry.

#BBB NEWS| Media Consultant Sues Alison-Madueke For Illegally Using His Name To Attack former Pres. Olusegun Obasanjo, Claims One Billion

An Abuja-based media consultant and former newspaper editor, Simon Imobo-Tswam, has sued Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, for libel, mischief and the unauthorized use of his name, phone number and platform for image-laundering.

In a lawsuit filed at a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Imobo-Tswam seeks N1 billion from the minister as “general and compensatory damages.” According to the plaintiff, Ms. Alison-Madueke and her media agents illegally used his name, his mobile telephone number and the official letterhead of his group, Network of Progressive Activists (NPA), to launch a media attack against former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In addition, according to the plaintiff, the minister and her hirelings exploited his name and group in defending the minister’s alleged questionable spending of N10 billion to charter jets.

Apart from the Petroleum Minister, other defendants are Michael Mukwuzi, Timothy Ademola, ThisDay newspapers, Tokunbo Adedoja, Vanguard newspapers, Chioma Gabriel, and Anozie Egole.

#BBB NEWS| Alison-Madueke: NNPC Has Started Refunding Unremitted $1.48bn

The Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Wednesday disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has started refunding the $1.48bn unremitted fund into the Federation Account as recommended by an audit firm, PriceWaterHouse Coopers.

She however did not disclose how much has for far been refunded by the corporation.

She also denied reports that she was seeking the assistance of some highly-placed persons in order to escape prosecution for alleged corruption from the incoming administration of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

Alison-Madueke spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It will be recalled the Federation Account Allocation Committee had on Monday night constituted a committee to find out the reasons for the delay in the refund of the sum.

#BBB NEWS| Six Countries Turn Down Petroleum Minister Alison-Madueke’s Asylum Request, BCA Report Says

No fewer than six countries have already refused to grant an asylum request by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Business Council for Africa (BCA) said in its just-released monthly report, noting that about US$ 1 trillion is the latest estimated figure of the looting of the Nigerian treasury between 1960 and 2005 alone.

The report, dated March 2015, focused extensively on Nigeria’s general elections.  It said the notorious Minister, whose impunity is known to have been closely-protected by President Goodluck Jonathan, will be coming under the microscope for the first time in her Ministerial career.

“Given her reputation, it comes as no surprise to learn that 6 countries have already refused to grant her asylum to live in their countries as she now wishes to leave Nigeria at the earliest possible opportunity,” it said.