More than £2m was spent at Harrods on behalf of a former Nigerian oil minister accused of accepting bribes from industry figures seeking government contracts, a London court has heard.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, 65, allegedly lived a “life of luxury in the United Kingdom”, including multimillion-pound houses, a chauffeur-driven car, private jet travel, and £100,000 in cash. Other benefits she allegedly enjoyed included £4.6m spent refurbishing properties in London and Buckinghamshire, the trial at Southwark Crown Court was told.
She denies five counts of accepting bribes and one charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Alison-Madueke served as Minister of Petroleum Resources from 2010 to 2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Jurors were told that over £2m was spent on behalf of Alison-Madueke at Harrods using the payment card of Kolawole Aluko and the debit card of his company, Tenka Limited.
The defendant had her own personal shopper at the store, a service only available to Harrods Rewards Black Tier members who spend over £10,000 a year, the court heard.
Jurors also heard that she lived in the UK at times, where she was provided with a housekeeper, nanny, gardener, and window cleaner. The owners of energy companies with lucrative contracts with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation paid the salaries and other running costs, the court heard.
“This case is about bribery in relation to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria between 2011 and 2015,” prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC said.
“During that time, those who were interested in the award and retention of lucrative oil and gas contracts with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or its subsidiaries, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and the Pipelines Product Marketing Company, provided substantial financial or other advantages to Alison-Madueke.”
Healy added: “It may seem unusual that we are handling a case in the UK concerning bribery in relation to the Nigerian oil and gas industry. We live in a global society. Bribery and corruption undermine how the global market should function. There is an important public interest in ensuring that what happens in our country does not promote corruption in another country.”
Jurors were shown photographs inside a property called The Falls in Gerrard’s Cross, Buckinghamshire. It was purchased in 2010 by Nigerian businessman Olajide Omokore, who owns a company called Atlantic Energy.
From late 2011, the court was told that Alison-Madueke used the house, which has a cinema room. The court heard she stayed there three or four times over two years, plus a six-week period during which she wrote a book about the president of Nigeria.
She was assisted by a chef and a driver whose role included delivering shopping for Alison-Madueke, whom he knew as “HM” – short for honourable minister.
This, along with £300,000 worth of refurbishment, was paid for by Tenka Limited, the court was told. Aluko also had contracts with state-owned entities and was in the process of securing new oil contracts, the court heard.
Between May 2011 and January 2014, £500,000 was also paid in rent for two flats in central London where Alison-Madueke and her mother lived, the court heard.
Records obtained from Tenka offices in Nigeria show that the company settled the bills, it is claimed.
Alison-Madueke sat in the dock beside oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who faces one charge of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke and one separate count of bribing a foreign public official.
Alison-Madueke’s brother, former archbishop Doye Agama, 69, faces a charge of conspiracy to bribe and is joining the trial via video link due to health issues.
Ayinde and Agama also deny the charges against them.
The trial, which is expected to last about 12 weeks, continues.
Oil plays a major role in Nigeria’s economy, but the population does not feel the benefits.
Nigeria is one of the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which was set up to manage global oil supply and price.
Who is Diezani Alison-Madueke?
Diezani Alison-Madueke, born on 6 December 1960 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is a Nigerian politician and the first woman ever to become president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
She became Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation on 26 July 2007.
In 2008, she was moved to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, and in April 2010, she was appointed as the first female Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria.
She later became the first female president of OPEC at the 166th OPEC Ordinary Meeting held in Vienna on 27 November 2014.
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