10
Jan
Jan
US RETURNS $52.88 MILLION LINKED TO DIEZANI ALISON-MADUEKE
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Nicolas Adekeye / 3 months
- 0
- 2 min read
The United States government has returned $52.88 million linked to former Nigerian Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke. The amount was reportedly traced to assets forfeited by Galactica, connected to Madueke and her associates. US Ambassador Richard M. Mills Jr. and Nigerian officials, led by Attorney-General Prince Lateef Fagbemi, formalized the agreement at the Ministry of Justice in Abuja. The funds will be managed with transparency, under the supervision of the World Bank and International Institute for Justice (IIJ), to ensure their proper use in projects benefiting Nigeria. According to Fagbemi, “Measures have also been put in place to ensure that the repatriated funds are not only disbursed but also utilized transparently and accountably by the World Bank and IIJ, with periodic reports to be forwarded to Nigeria and the US on the implementation of the projects.” He added that this framework will guarantee that the funds are effectively used for the full benefit of the Nigerian people, in line with international anti-corruption standards. Madueke, who served as oil minister from 2010 to 2015, is alleged to have accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million dollar oil and gas contracts. She has been charged with bribery offenses in the UK and has denied corruption allegations. Assets worth millions of pounds relating to the alleged offenses have been frozen as part of an ongoing probe by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA). The US Department of Justice has recovered assets totaling $53.1 million linked to Madueke’s alleged corruption, thanks to evidence provided by the NCA. The NCA worked closely with Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which recovered about $153 million and more than 80 properties from Madueke last year.