Court freezes $1.8 billion in assets stolen by Diezani Madueke’s allies

Kola Aluko, an executive director of Atlantic Energy and his partner Jide Omokore, both linked with Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources, Diezani Alison Madueke, will not have access to $1.8 billion in assets following Lagos federal high court order.

Frozen assets include three mansions in Los Angeles, two high-end apartments in New York City, properties in Santa Barbara, California; numerous properties in Lagos, including 43 apartments in Banana Island, 58 vehicles, the Galactica Star yacht, and three airplanes among others.

According to documents obtained by Sahara Reporters, Mr Aluko and Mr Omikore have illegally appropriated more than $1.7 billion from the Nigerian government.

This comes days after Forbes report about Mr Aluko selling his Bel-Air mansion in Los Angeles for $21.5 million. Both Atlantic Energy executives and Nigeria’s former oil minister Madueke are under investigation initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The comission expropriated a £2 million wristwatch from Mr Omikore in April this year and also raided his Nigerian apartments last year.

Alison-Madueke been accused of awarding multi-billion Naira contracts without recourse to due process and of recklessly spending government funds as well as wasting billions of Nigerian dollars inappropriately on private jets.

In October 2015 she had been arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) along with five other people on suspicion of bribery and corruption offences. Her family confirmed she had been arrested in London.

Also in Nigeria, her home in Asokoro, Abuja was raided and sealed by anti-corruption agents of the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, soon after her alleged arrest in London.