In September, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced that it was seeking the extradition of former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke from the UK to face allegations of corruption (see previous blog). However, the Nigerian government has now said that it would not be pursuing Ms Alison-Madueke’s extradition for the time being in order to avoid jeopardising an ongoing UK investigation into similar allegations.
The UK’s National Crime Agency obtained permission to seize £27,000 from Diezani in early October 2017, but the investigation into her conduct is reported to involve properties worth several million pounds, which are currently subject to a freezing order granted in September 2016. The US Department of Justice identified approximately $144m of assets in July 2017 that it alleged were bought for Ms Alison-Madueke in return for lucrative contracts during her time overseeing Nigeria’s state-owned oil company (see press release here).
Categories: Nigeria, United Kingdom
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