Diezani Alison-Madueke, 65, who was in office from 2010 to 2015, was the first woman oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC

Alison-Madueke appeared in a London court on Monday, ahead of her full trial on bribery charges relating to her time as Nigeria’s oil minister

She was formally charged in October 2023, by the UK’s National Crime Agency with offenses of accepting bribes between 2011 to 2015, but she has denied six charges

The oil minister who currently resides in the UK, fled Nigeria when her party lost power in 2015

Still listed as a fugitive in her home country, she has been out on bail since she was first arrested in London in October 2015

Alison-Madueke and her two co-correspondents, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, all pled not guilty to the eight-count indictment bordering bribery and conspiracy to bribe

The trial scheduled to begin on Monday, January 26

Former Nigerian energy czar and OPEC president Diezani Alison-Madueke is on trial in a UK court alongside two co-correspondents, facing an eight-count indictment bordering bribery and conspiracy to bribe while serving as her country’s Minister of Petroleum Resources

Former OPEC president Diezani Alison-Madueke appeared in a London court on Monday, ahead of her full trial on bribery charges relating to her time as Nigeria’s oil minister.
Preliminary proceedings, including technical matters and jury selection, began this week, with Alison-Madueke in attendance.
Alison-Madueke, who was in office from 2010 to 2015, was the first woman oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC. However, she has not been seen in Nigeria since the end of her ministerial tenure on May 29, 2015. On self-exile her current listed address is listed in St John’s Wood, an upscale area of west London.

Diezani Alison-Madueke leaves Southwark Crown Court in London, UK, ahead of her full trial for corruption on Monday. The trial estitmated to last 10 – 12 weeks begins Jan 26

According to Nigerian sources, her tenure as the country’s energy czar during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, coincided with over $28 billion accruing from oil exports being re-directed, other than the nation’s coffers.
After her party, the People’s Democratic Party [PDP], lost the election the 2015 election and before the swearing-in of the incoming government Alison-Madueke left the country for medical checkup in the UK. She never came back. Subsequently she was accused in absentia with misappropriation of billions of dollars and placed on a wanted list of officials who served in the Jonathan administration.
The 65-year-old has been on bail since she was first arrested in London in October 2015.
On 22 August 2023, She has denied six charges against her. She had since relocated to Dominica
She was formally charged in 2023 by the UK’s National Crime Agency with offenses of accepting bribes between 2011 to 2015. as charged by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) with bribery.
The offenses follow an investigation by the NCA, which alleges that she accepted bribes in exchange for oil and gas contracts worth millions of dollars while in government.
According to the agency the oil minister abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding oil and gas contracts, while in government.

Alison-Madueke, 65, who was in office from 2010 to 2015, was the first woman oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel, OPEC

According to the indictment, Alison-Madueke benefited from at least $134,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets and the use of multiple London properties.
In March 2023, the NCA presented proof of her corrupt activities to the US Department of Justice leading to, successful, prosecution of Alison-Madueke and two other persons, Nigerian businessmen Kolawole Akanni Aluko and Olajide Omokore.
According to court documents, Aluko and Olajide Omokore conspired with others to pay bribes to then Nigeria’s Minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who oversaw Nigeria’s state-owned oil company. In return, Alison-Madueke used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts to companies owned in which listed businessmen had interest.
The proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts totaling more than $100 million were then laundered in and through the United States and used to purchase various assets through shell companies, including luxury real estate in California and New York as well as the Galactica Star, a 65-meter superyacht.
The real estate was also used as collateral for loans to Aluko and shell companies he controlled.
With the conclusion of the cases, the DOJ recovered about $53.1 million in cash, constituting the net liquidated value of the defendant’s assets, plus a promissory note with a principal value of $16 million. according to a statement issued by the U.S. Justice department.
As part of the forfeiture process, those lien holders for Aluko’s real real estate portfolio were paid off.
The former energy czar, Omokore and Aluko have also been subjects of criminal trials in Nigeria over related oil industry alleged corruption.
The amount recovered is of record-breaking feat according to Andy Kelly, the Head of the NCA’s International Corruption Unit: ‘We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts. These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation,’ Kelly said.
The charges also detailed financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees and gifts from top designer shops such as Louis Vuitton.

Doye Agama, former archbishop of the Apostolic Pastoral Congress, appeared in court via video link on Monday. He’s accused of receiving bribes for his church as part of a scheme orchestrated by his sister, Diezani Alison-Madueke

Olatimbo Bukola Ayinde, the Group CEO of Dutchess Energy who is charged along Alison-Madueke, was present in the dock at Southwark Crown Court in London, UK on Monday

The trial scheduled to begin on Monday, January 26 and expected to last 10 to 12 weeks, centers around allegations that Alison-Madueke accepted bribes by using private jets, Chauffeur-driven luxury cars, expensive properties, purchase of luxury goods from Louis Vuitton and Harrods, £100,000 cash, and payment of school fees for her sons.
Two others are also being prosecuted on bribery charges linked to this case. Her sibling Doye Agama, 68, the former archbishop of the Apostolic Pastoral Congress, appeared in court via video link on Monday. He is accused of receiving bribes for his church as part of a scheme prosecutors say was orchestrated by his sister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The other co-conspirator, Ms Olatimbo Bukola Ayinde, was present in the dock. Ayinde is an oil and gas expert reputed to be a powerful influence-peddler in top government circles. She has also been cited in a different case of official corruption playing out in UK courts – bribing Ibe Kachikwu, another former Nigerian petroleum minister.
The former minister and her two co-correspondents, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, all pled not guilty to the eight-count indictment bordering bribery and conspiracy to bribe.