9 July 2019
Diezani Alison-Madueke (picture) was in April 2010 appointed Minister of Petroleum Resources. Before that she held the portfolio of transportation and then Mines and Steel Development. She was accused of misappropriating over $20 billion and abusing power when she was a Minister of petroleum in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, a court ordered seizure of $40 million worth of jewellery and a customized gold iPhone belonging to her, the country’s anti-graft agency said. The items, including 315 rings, 304 earrings, 189 wristwatches, rings, earrings and necklaces, were found at a property owned by Alison-Madueke, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said in a statement.
The order authorizes EFCC to publicise the intended seizure so that anyone interested in the items can come forward to claim their rights within 14 days of the publication. In 2017, a court allowed the government to permanently seize a US$37.5 million apartment block she owned in an upscale Lagos neighbourhood.
In October 2009, the Senate of Nigeria indicted Diezani Alison-Madueke and recommended prosecution for the transfer of 1.2 billion naira into the private account of a toll company without due process and in breach of concession agreement.
She has been officially charged in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria for money laundering.
On 28 August 2017, a Nigerian federal court seized $21 million from bank accounts linked to her. Her whereabouts is not known but on 2 October 2015, Reuters reported that Alison-Madueke had been arrested by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in London, along with four other people on suspicion of bribery and corruption offences. Her family and the Nigerian Government confirmed that she had been arrested in London.
US department of justice is seeking to reclaim assets worth $144 million believed to be proceeds of corrupt dealings. The assets include a $50 million luxury condo apartment in New York and a $80 million yacht.
Last year, a Nigerian court issued a warrant of arrest, requesting the former minister’s extradition from the United Kingdom.