A The NCA suspects the former Nigerian oil minister took bribes “in return for oil and gas contracts worth millions of pounds” between 2010 and 2015, it said in a statement.
“These charges represent a significant milestone in a complex and comprehensive investigation into international bribery,” said Andy Kelly, director of the NCA’s international anti-bribery unit.
The former politician is alleged to have benefited from at least £100,000 (€117,000) in cash, chauffeured cars, travel on private jets, luxury holidays for himself and his family and the use of several flats in London. Furniture, renovation works, housekeepers, private school fees and gifts from luxury brands such as Cartier jewelery and Louis Vuitton goods.
Alison-Maduke, 63 and currently living in London, is due to appear in a London court hearing on October 2.
She is the first female Nigerian to head OPEC and was the Minister of Petroleum between 2010 and 2015 when Goodluck Jonathan was president.
Diezani Alison-Madueke is the subject of several investigations into money laundering and corruption in the United States (USA), United Kingdom and Italy, and is a key target of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency has accused Alison-Maduke of distributing a total of 23 million naira (55.7 million euros) in an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.
The former politician was arrested in London in October 2015, where a court ordered the freezing of five luxury properties, and was released on bail pending trial.
The US Department of Justice announced in 2017 that it was seizing the assets of Nigerian directors of Nigerian oil companies who received profits as a result of oil deals awarded by former Nigerian Petroleum Minister Diesani Alison-Maduke.
The assets included a yacht called the “Galactica Star” worth $80 million (€70 million) and a $50 million building near Central Park in New York.
The former oil minister was also named in a 2017 investigation by Italian officials into alleged bribes from oil majors Eni and Shell involving former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan.
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