$1.1 Billion Malabu Scandal: EFCC Arraigns Ex-AGF Adoke, Others in Court

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Wednesday, December 21st, 2016

ABUJA, NIGERIA (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned the immediate past Attorney General Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN) in a Federal High Court in Abuja, over his alleged role in the $1.1 billion OPL Malabu oil scandal.
Mr. Adoke was alleged to have diverted the oil block money paid by Shell and ENI into some private accounts, including the transfer of over $800 million into the accounts of a former Nigeria Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Dan Etete and his oil firm, Malabu Oil and Gas Limited.

The sum was initially paid by the oil giants into a Federal Government account, for OPL 245, the continent’s richest oil block.

EFCC in its investigations dated four years ago also indcted another oil and gas chief executive, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, the Chairman of A. A. Group and Rocky Top Services. He allegedly received the sum of $336,456,906.78 from the total diverted money

As the long awaited prosecution begins, Mr Adoke who served under the immediate past administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is most likely to be extradited from Holland, where he presently resides.

Among of the charges read against Adoke and other accused include ‘’ Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), on or about August 10, 2011 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, aided Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited to commit the offence of money laundering by facilitating the payment of an aggregate sum of $801,540,000 only to Dauzia Loya Etete (aka Dan Etete) and Malabu Oil & Gas through the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account with number 41451493, IBAN GB 30CHAS609242411493 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London, which you reasonably ought to have known represented the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: fraud, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”

Other charges read: “That you, Dauzia Loya Etet (aka Dan Etete), and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited on or about August 24, 2011, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, directly or indirectly took control of the sum of $400,000,000, paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No 41451493 IBAN 30CHAS609242411492 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London, into the account of Malabu Oil & Gas Limited, domiciled in PHB Plc (now Keystone Bank) Account No 1005552028.

“That you (Etete and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited) on or about August 10, 2011, directly or indirectly took control of the sum of $401,000,000, paid from the Federal Government of Nigeria Escrow account No 41451493 IBAN GB 30CHAS609242411493 with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London, into the account of Malabu Oil & Gas Limited domiciled in First Bank of Nigeria Plc Account No 2011828805, when you knew the funds formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activity to wit: fraud, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”

It would be recalled that in an effort to lend his voice into the huge scam, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara on December 13, 2016 inaugurated an Ad-hoc Committee, saddled with the probe of alleged corruption, malpractices and the breach of due process in the award of Oil Prospecting OPL 245

Dogara made his move public at the take off of a two-day public hearing organized by the Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Malabu scandal.