Nigeria- The former Minister for Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, will return to court in September to answer allegations regarding her involvement in a £27,000 money laundering scheme.The allegations were leveled against her by United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), who requested on March 31 that Mrs. Alison-Madueke return to court in six months to give the agency time to tighten its case. The request, which is typical of the NCA, was granted by the Westminster Magistrate Court.
The NCA has the authority to prosecute Mrs. Alison-Madueke under the Proceeds of Crime Act of 2002, which “sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets, with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power.”
The investigation into the money laundering scheme involves authorities from the UK, Nigeria and Switzerland, where billionaire Kola Aluko was questioned at the request of the NCA.
Mr. Aluko is the owner of Atlantic Energy, a company that signed an alliance with the Nigerian National Petroleum Alliance while Mrs. Alison-Madueke was the Petroleum Minister. The deal allowed Atlantic Energy to sell oil from four blocks on behalf of Nigeria.
The businessman said he was “willing to cooperate with anybody” in the investigation, stating that he has nothing to hide.
The former Minister is currently on bail, along with her mother, Beatrice Agama, her son, Ugonna Madueke, her friend Melanie Spencer, wife of Ghanaian oil tycoon Kevin Okyere, and one of her siblings.
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