Ex-Nigerian oil minister denies taking bribes

Former Nigerian oil minister faces UK court, denies allegations of a multi-million pound bribery-funded lifestyle. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Ex-Nigerian oil minister denies taking bribes

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Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, has formally denied charges of bribery in a London court, pleading not guilty to allegations that she accepted rewards in exchange for awarding lucrative oil and gas contracts. The charges, brought by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), allege that between 2013 and 2015, Alison-Madueke accepted cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets, and the use of high-end properties in Britain in return for granting multimillion-pound contracts. The 63-year-old, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court and was granted bail ahead of a trial scheduled for later this year. The prosecution's case paints a picture of systemic corruption at the highest levels of one of Africa's largest oil-producing nations. Central to the allegations is the claim that Alison-Madueke leveraged her position as both oil minister and president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to solicit and receive substantial advantages. The NCA asserts that these bribes funded a "life of luxury" in the United Kingdom, including the payment for and refurbishment of several London properties. This case represents the most significant legal action taken against the former minister since she first came under investigation nearly a decade ago, following the 2015 election that ousted her political patron from power. Alison-Madueke's legal troubles have been long-running and international in scope. For years, she has been a central figure in multiple corruption investigations in Nigeria, the United States, and the United Kingdom, often symbolizing for many Nigerians the profound graft that has plagued the country's oil sector for decades. Despite the Nigerian government's attempts to prosecute her domestically and recover assets, progress has been slow, making the UK's pursuit of a criminal trial a closely watched development. Her arrest in London in 2015, shortly after leaving office, was a landmark moment, but the subsequent legal process has been protracted, involving complex international evidence gathering and asset freezing orders worth millions of...

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Categoria: cronaca