Skip to main content

$20bn NNPC Fraud: EFCC Discovers Diezani's $37.5m Lagos Mansion


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has discovered a $37.5m (N11.75bn) luxury high-rise building on Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, allegedly belonging to the embattled former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

This is just as the EFCC revealed on Friday that it discovered $9.3m and £74,000 belonging to a former Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu. The money was allegedly kept in a bungalow situated in the slums of Kaduna.

The two discoveries were made as part of investigations into a string of fraudulent activities in the NNPC, which cost the nation over $20bn at a time the oil price stood at about $100 per barrel on the average

According to impeccable sources within the EFCC, the building allegedly belonging to Diezani was purchased between 2011 and 2012. It is situated in the same estate where Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, resides.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the building comprises 18 flats and six penthouses.

Properties on Banana Island are believed to be among the most expensive in Africa with a plot of land selling between $4m (N1.25bn) and $6m (N1.8bn), according to Forbes Magazine.

A source at the EFCC said, “The aggressive drive by the EFCC to recover all hidden assets of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is under investigation for corruption and money laundering, produced another breakthrough this week with the discovery of a property acquired through shell companies by the former minister at upscale Banana Island in Lagos.

“The property is a 15-storey edifice comprising 18 flats and six penthouses.

“The property was acquired by the former minister between 2011 and 2012 at a total cost of $37.5m from the developers, YF Construction Development and Real Estate.

The property was allegedly acquired in the name of a shell company, Rusimpex Limited under the control of certain Mr. Afamefuna Nwokedi of Stillwaters law firm, in Lagos.”

Last year, the commission seized an $18m mansion in the Asokoro area of Abuja allegedly belonging to the ex-minister.

She has, however, denied all the allegations levelled against her.

Meanwhile, the commission has recovered $9.7m and £74,000 from a former GMD of the NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu.

Ironically, Yakubu, who served as the head of the corporation between 2012 and 2014, is the key witness of the EFCC against the Chairman of Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited, Jide Omokore, who is standing trial for an alleged $1.6bn fraud.

The EFCC said in a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, that the money was found in a safe hidden in a slum in Kaduna State.

The statement read in part, “A special operation conducted by operatives of the EFCC on February 3, 2017 on a building belonging to a former Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Andrew Yakubu, in Kaduna yielded the recovery of a staggering sum of $9,772,800.

http://punchng.com/20bn-nnpc-fraud-efcc-discovers-diezanis-37-5m-lagos-mansion/

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IBB set to return to public domain

TWENTY-FOUR  years after he stepped aside on August 27, 1993, following the crisis that trailed the cancellation of the controversial June 12, presidential election, self-styled military president of Nigeria,  Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is about to return to the public domain again. Award-winning  film maker, Obi Emelonye  earlier in the week announced plans to commence production of  “Badamasi”, a biographical film on the former military leader. Pre-production of the film is scheduled to begin next month and will run till June, 2017. Intimating the press earlier about the project, Emelonye, who flew into the country from London, said, “Badamasi” is a story of love, war, politics, violence, diplomacy, coups, corruption and governance laced with heavy dose of Machiavellian intrigue. He said, his decision to embark on this project was informed by the need to profile a Nigerian leader in a historical, but biographical film, a treatment that has been me...

Countries with the easiest Visa procedures for International Students

Over time, studying abroad has actually become more accessible to students in a number of countries. You only need to do your research well enough to reveal these countries with good tertiary institutions and relatively easy visa procedures for international students, and take advantage of their offers.  Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 4 countries with the easiest visa procedures for international students.  Canada  Canada is considered as one of the top study destinations in the world because of its great universities, reasonable cost of living and beautiful environment and landscape. The country has quite an easy procedure for students to apply for study visas. The process basically requires the student to first apply for and gain entry into a Canadian university and then obtain a Canadian study permit, which is renewable for the length of the students study period. The best part of a Canadian study visa is that, not only can an individual stu...

CBN recovers over N51.9bn illegally deducted by commercial banks and returns it to the customers.

The Central bank Nigeria has recovered the said amount of money which were illegally deducted from the customer’s account by most Nigeria Commercial banks in all part of the country. These ill acts by the other banks were bitterly condemned by the chief bank (CBN) because it depicts the country’s banking standard and harm the poor masses. The CBN Acting Director, corporate communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, made these open without fear or favor in Port Harcourt during an ongoing interactive section with many stakeholders, south-south zone, and other Union leaders. Mr. Okorafor gave details on how the aforementioned money was discovered and refunded to the poor customers after massive complaints by the customers on illegal funds deduction s from their various accounts by our Nigerian banks. He revealed that the Apex bank is out for the commercial banks if other further news are received from customers. He further stated the actual amount which was illegally deducted by the commerc...