A United States District Court in California has convicted Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), of $2.1 million bribery scheme linked to oil drilling rights in Nigeria.

Okoronkwo, 58, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United States and also a practising lawyer in Los Angeles.

He was found guilty on multiple charges, including three counts of unlawful monetary transactions, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice.

The verdict was returned after a four day trial in August, where prosecutors presented evidence that the former oil executive received $2,105,263 in October 2015 from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of Chinese oil giant Sinopec.

Court filings revealed that the money was allegedly wired into the trust account of Okoronkwo’s Los Angeles law firm under the guise of consultancy fees.

Prosecutors told the court that the arrangement was a sham designed to disguise the payment, which was “a bribe” to secure favourable financial terms for Addax’s drilling operations in Nigeria.

Investigators also established that Addax executives misrepresented the transaction, misled auditors, and dismissed staff who raised concerns about the deal.

The company’s interest in Nigeria was said to be worth billions of dollars.

Further revelations showed that in November 2017, Okoronkwo allegedly used $983,200 of the illicit funds as a down payment for a house in Valencia, California.

He also “failed” to declare the bribe money in his 2015 federal tax returns.

When quizzed by federal agents in 2022, the former oil boss reportedly obstructed justice by insisting the funds belonged to a client and not to him.

The jury however rejected his defence and found him guilty on all counts.

US District Judge John F. Walter, who presided over the case, fixed December 1, 2025, for sentencing.

Okoronkwo faces up to 25 years in prison, with a statutory maximum of 10 years each for the unlawful monetary transactions and obstruction of justice, and 5 years for tax evasion.

The FBI and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation led the probe, with support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Alexander Schwab, Nisha Chandran of the Major Frauds Section, and Alexander Su of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section.

Court records also show that Okoronkwo is currently out on a $50,000 bond while awaiting sentencing.

His ties with the NNPCL were severed in 2024 following his indictment, according to former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad.

The conviction marks another high profile case of corruption involving Nigeria’s oil industry and international partners, with far reaching implications for the integrity of the sector. (Daily Trust)

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