Earlier today, Justice Edis of the Southwark Crown Court, refused to release $85 million (N17 billion) to Malabu, a fraudulent company controlled by Nigeria’s former petroleum minister, Dan Etete. In
refusing it, Edis declared that he was not sure the administration of GEJ acted in Nigeria’s interest when it approved the transfer of the money to Malabu.
He said: “I cannot simply assume that the FGN which was in power in 2011 and subsequently until 2015 rigorously defended the public interest of the people of Nigeria in all respects.” GEJ administration controversially approved the transfer of $1.1bn from Nigeria’s JP Morgan account in London to Nigerian accounts controlled by Malabu. .
The money was paid by global oil giants, Shell and ENi, for Africa’s richest oil bloc, OPL 245. The fraudulent deal has been condemned by Nigerians and international transparency advocates and is being investigated by authorities in 4 different countries. The $85m was seized at the request of Italian prosecutors who are also investigating the deal.
Sensing that the Buhari administration was yet to find its feet on international legal matters, Etete approached the British court and asked that the money be returned to him. While Etete argued that the money be released to him, the Italian prosecutor argued that their investigation could lead to a potential forfeiture of the money down the road.
credit:instablog9ja
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