United Kingdom Crime agency charges Diezani Alison-Madueke with Bribery

Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been charged with bribery offences relating by the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA).

63-year-old Alison-Madueke, has been on bail since first being arrested in London in October 2015, and will appear in court on October 2.

The head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, said in a statement, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts.”

“Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries,” Kelly said.

“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.”

The NCA said Alison-Madueke allegedly benefited from at least £100,000 ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.

The charges also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from top designer shops such as Cartier jewelry and Louis Vuitton goods.

The NCA added that assets worth $53.1 million of pounds in relation to the case have been frozen as part of the investigation.

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