Former OPEC president Diezani Alison-Madueke is set to stand trial in the UK for bribery offenses connected to her tenure as Nigeria’s oil minister, as confirmed by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) on Tuesday.
Having been under bail since her initial arrest in London in October 2015, the 63-year-old will make her appearance in a British court on October 2, according to the NCA. From the outset of her detention, her family’s legal representative emphasized her intention to vehemently challenge the corruption accusations that have loomed over her, both during and after her tenure within former president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Serving as oil minister from 2010 to 2015, Alison-Madueke held the distinction of being Nigeria’s first female oil minister and the inaugural female president of OPEC, the global oil cartel. The head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, remarked, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts.”
The NCA’s allegations indicate that Alison-Madueke allegedly gained benefits amounting to at least £100,000 ($127,000) in cash, chauffeured cars, private jet travel, luxurious family vacations, and the utilization of numerous London properties. The charges further detail additional financial perks, including furniture, property renovations, staff appointments, private school fees, and extravagant gifts from high-end retailers such as Cartier and Louis Vuitton.
Kelly stressed the significance of addressing bribery as a prevailing form of corruption, emphasizing its potential to facilitate serious criminal activity and inflict considerable harm on developing nations. He affirmed that these charges are a significant milestone within an exhaustive and intricate international investigation.
Since her initial arrest, Alison-Madueke has resided in the upscale St John’s Wood neighborhood of north London and has undergone breast cancer treatment, according to her family.
