Former President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been charged with bribery offences relating to her time as Nigeria’s oil minister.
This is according to the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Tuesday.
Alison-Madueke, aged 63, has been on bail since first being arrested in London in October 2015. The NCA said she will appear in court in the British capital on October 2.
Soon after her arrest, her family’s lawyer told media she would strongly contest corruption allegations that have dogged her during and after her time in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.
Alison-Madueke, in office from 2010 to 2015, was the first woman to be oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC. The head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, said in a statement that they suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts.
The NCA said Alison-Madueke allegedly benefited from at least 100,000 pounds 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 jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.