{"id":121874,"date":"2025-09-03T18:22:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T17:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=121874"},"modified":"2025-09-03T18:22:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T17:22:25","slug":"2-1m-alleged-scam-ex-nnpcl-official-faces-25-years-in-us-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/2-1m-alleged-scam-ex-nnpcl-official-faces-25-years-in-us-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"$2.1m Alleged Scam : Ex-NNPCL Official Faces 25 Years in US Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Tracy Moses<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A former top official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Paulinus Okoronkwo, is facing the prospect of up to 25 years behind bars in the United States over a $2.1 million bribery scandal.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The US Attorney\u2019s Office for the Central District of California, in a statement released Tuesday evening, confirmed that Okoronkwo, a 58-year-old lawyer, has been convicted on multiple charges, including three counts of transactional money laundering, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice. His sentencing has been scheduled for December 1.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Prosecutors disclosed that Okoronkwo concealed a $2,105,263 payment from his 2015 federal income tax return. The money was allegedly transferred in October 2015 by a Swiss subsidiary of Sinopec, Addax Petroleum, into the account of his Lagos-based law firm. Though the transaction was presented as consultancy fees for negotiating a settlement between Addax and NNPC regarding drilling rights in Nigeria, US investigators insist it was in fact a bribe.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the consultancy agreement Addax signed with Okoronkwo\u2019s law office carried a fictitious Lagos address and was designed to mask the illicit nature of the payment. The DoJ alleged that the money was meant to secure Okoronkwo\u2019s influence in brokering more favourable financial terms for Addax\u2019s oil operations in Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Okoronkwo was first indicted in January 2024 on charges of conducting unlawful financial transactions, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The scandal traces back to May 2015, just days before the end of President Goodluck Jonathan\u2019s administration. At the time, Okoronkwo, then serving as a general manager in NNPC\u2019s upstream department, was part of a team that finalised an agreement with Addax Petroleum. The deal, according to industry experts, reportedly shortchanged Nigeria by about $2.4 billion.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following investigations into the controversial contract and the subsequent bribe payment, Okoronkwo was dismissed from NNPC. His dismissal was later confirmed by Bashir Ahmad, former media aide to late President Muhammadu Buhari, who disclosed on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, that the corporation severed ties with Okoronkwo after the bribery allegations came to light.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Addax deal itself had long been mired in controversy, with accusations that it was hurriedly concluded in the twilight of Jonathan\u2019s presidency to favour the oil company at Nigeria\u2019s expense. The US prosecution of Okoronkwo has now shed fresh light on the opaque dealings between NNPC officials and international oil firms, reviving questions about accountability in the management of Nigeria\u2019s oil wealth.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Tracy Moses A former top official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Paulinus Okoronkwo, is facing the prospect of up to 25 years behind bars in the&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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