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The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has brought charges against Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, a former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) official, in connection with a $2.1 million bribery scandal. According to the US Department of Justice, Okoronkwo is accused of receiving the substantial sum while serving at NNPC, allegedly in exchange for favorable drilling rights for a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned oil company.
The indictment against Okoronkwo includes three counts of engaging in monetary transactions derived from unlawful activity, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice. The accused, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Nigeria, is scheduled to appear in the United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the forthcoming weeks.
Details provided in the indictment reveal that Okoronkwo, during his tenure as the general manager of the upstream division at NNPC, received the illicit payment in October 2015. The payment, amounting to $2,105,263, was wired to an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) under the guise of compensation for legal services rendered by Okoronkwo’s Los Angeles-based law firm. It is alleged that this payment was, in fact, a bribe intended to influence negotiations pertaining to Addax Petroleum’s drilling rights in Nigeria, a subsidiary of Sinopec, a Chinese conglomerate.
In an effort to conceal the illicit nature of the transaction, Addax Petroleum reportedly misrepresented the payment as legitimate legal fees, misled auditors, and terminated an executive who raised concerns about the payment. The indictment further accuses Okoronkwo of using a portion of the bribe to purchase a property in Valencia, California, in November 2017.
Apart from charges related to money laundering, Okoronkwo faces allegations of tax evasion for failing to report the bribe payment in his 2015 federal income tax return, as well as obstruction of justice for allegedly providing false information to investigators during a June 2022 interview.
If found guilty on all counts, Okoronkwo could potentially face up to ten years in federal prison for each money laundering charge, as well as additional sentences for obstruction of justice and tax evasion.
The case underscores the collaborative efforts of US law enforcement agencies in combating international corruption and holding individuals accountable for their involvement in bribery schemes that undermine fair business practices.