UK charges Diezani with Bribery

Former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been charged with bribery in the United Kingdom.

According to Reuters, British police said they had charged her with bribery offences, saying they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.

Alison-Madueke, 63, was a key figure in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

She served as petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015 and also acted as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

"We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts," said Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency's (NCA) International Corruption Unit.

"These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation."

The NCA said Alison-Madueke was accused of benefitting from at least 100,000 pounds in cash, chauffeur driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.

Charges against her also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods, the NCA said.

Since she left office, she has been dogged by corruption allegations but denied the charges.

British police said she was currently living in St John's Wood, an upmarket area of west London.

She was first arrested in 2015, but underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer, according to her family.

At the time of her arrest, the NCA said only it had detained five people in London on suspicion of international corruption, without naming those held.

The NCA said that assets worth millions of pounds in relation to the case have been frozen as part of the investigation.

In March, the agency, which targets international and organized crime, provided evidence to the US Department of Justice allowing them to recover assets totaling $53.1 million linked to Alison-Madueke's alleged corruption.

Diezani is expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on October 2.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had made many moves to extradite her, but its request was blocked.

-REUTERS