The British Police on 22nd August 2023, filed a fresh charge of bribery against the former President of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke. It was reported that Madueke 63 years was allegedly accepting bribes in return for awarding contracts. This was after an investigation carried out by the National Crime Agency (NCA). It was reported that Madueke received bribes during her tenure as Minister for Petroleum Resources, in exchange for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts, which she allegedly benefitted over 100,000 pounds in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and use of multiple London properties.
Alison-Madueke has been living in the upmarket St John’s Wood area of north London since she was first arrested, and undergone 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.
Madueke was arrested in London in October 2015 and released on bail. According to the NCA, she will appear in court in the British capital on October 2. Her family’s lawyer told AFP shortly after her arrest that she would forcefully defend herself against the corruption allegations that have dogged her during and after her service in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.
