2nd October, 2023
The bribery case against former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been transferred to Southwark Crown Court, which tried and jailed former Delta governor James Ibori.
The transfer of her case file was one of the decisions reached by District Court Magistrate Michael Snow when the case came up today.
Magistrate Snow also imposed several strictures on Diezani, including and 11pm-6am curfew, an electronic tag to be worn at all times.
While granting Diezani bail on Monday, Snow asked for a £70,000 surety to be paid before she could leave the court building.
Her next court appearance will be at Southwark Crown Court, which deals with serious criminal cases, on Oct. 30.
Diezani was earlier charged with receiving bribes in the form of cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets and the use of high-end properties in Britain in return for awarding oil contracts.
Prosecutor Andy Young said she was alleged to have accepted a wide range of advantages in cash and in kind from people who wanted to receive or continue to receive the award of oil contracts which he said were worth billions of dollars in total.
The advantages included a delivery of 100,000 pounds ($121,620) in cash, the payment of private school fees for her son, and the use and refurbishment of several luxurious properties in London and in the English countryside.
They also included the use of a Range Rover car, payment of bills for chauffeur-driven cars, furniture, and purchases from the upmarket London department store Harrods and from Vincenzo Caffarella, which sells Italian decorative arts and antiques.
Diezani Alison-Madueke was Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015, during the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan.
Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency welcomed the British prosecution and said she was also wanted in her home country to face charges of money-laundering.
Appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, Alison-Madueke spoke only to give her name, date of birth and address.
She was not asked to formally enter a plea, although her lawyer Mark Bowen told the court she would plead not guilty.
She is the second high-profile Nigerian politician to face prosecution in Britain in recent years, following James Ibori, a former state governor who was convicted of fraud and money-laundering in 2012 and received a 13-year jail sentence.
Alison-Madueke was arrested in London in 2015, shortly after stepping down as minister, and was charged in August with six bribery offences.
She has spent the past eight years on police bail, living in St John’s Wood, an expensive area of London.