The United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) has dragged a former President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke, to court over alleged bribery.
Alison-Madueke, in office from 2010 to 2015, was the first woman to be oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC.
The authorities on Tuesday claimed the 63-year-old accused committed the offences during her time as Nigeria’s oil minister.
The NCA said the former OPEC president who was first arrested and bailed in October 2015, will appear in court in the British capital on October 2.
Speaking about the charges, Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) International Corruption Unit, said, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.
“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 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
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The charges also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from top designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.
“Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries.
“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation,” Kelly said.
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.
The Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crime Prosecution Service, Andrew Penhale said, “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the NCA to charge Diezani Alison-Madueke with bribery offences.
“The CPS made the decision to authorise the charge after reviewing a file of evidence from the NCA relating to allegations of bribery in Nigeria.
“Criminal proceedings against Ms Alison-Madueke are active and she has the right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.
“The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a criminal court to consider.”