There are indications that a seven-man investigative team from the United Kingdom have arrived Nigeria to interrogate suspected allies of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Dieziani Alison-Madueke.
According to SaharaReporters, the detectives from the UK’s anti-corruption agency, National Crimes Agency, NCA, comprising of four women and three men, are in the country as part of the agency’s efforts to build a strong case in order to begin the trial of Dieziani in 2017.
Recall that NCA had in October 2015, arrested the former Nigerian Minister for offences bothering on bribery and corruption being investigated by the UK.
The report disclosed that one of the ex-minister’s associates being interrogated by the UK detectives was Donald Chidi Amamgbo, a California-based lawyer and Jide Omokore, who is currently on bail after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arrested and charged him with fraud.
Amamgbo was said to have been detained by the EFCC, and later granted administrative bail.
The British detectives will interrogate several oil dealers who were close to Alison-Madueke, and played different roles in web of international financial crimes while Dieziani was in office.
The oil dealers were said to have offered large pay-off to the former Minister for oil swap deals.
The report said, “Our source revealed that UK investigators were looking into close to 20 cases against Mrs. Alison-Madueke. However, the case that has the most traction has to do with how the former minister’s alleged used of straw companies to launder billions of dollars. Some of the alleged laundered funds were used to purchase 17 properties in the UK and elsewhere.”
The payoffs were said to have been wired to Amamgbo, the report added.
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