KEY POINTS
- Former NNPC executive Paulinus Okoronkwo was sentenced to 87 months in U.S. prison for a $2.1 million bribery scheme.
- He must pay $923,824 in tax restitution and forfeit over $1 million from property proceeds.
- Prosecutors say the bribe, disguised as legal fees, was meant to secure favourable Nigerian oil drilling rights.
A United States district court has sentenced Paulinus Okoronkwo, a Nigerian-American and former general manager at NNPC Limited, to 87 months in prison for accepting a $2.1 million bribe linked to oil contracts.
The ruling was delivered by District Judge John Walter, who also ordered Okoronkwo to pay $923,824 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid taxes.
Prosecutors said the payment came from Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of Chinese state energy giant Sinopec, in October 2015.
The funds were wired to Okoronkwo’s law firm trust account in Los Angeles and falsely labeled as consultancy fees.
Authorities argued the payment was actually a bribe intended to secure favourable drilling rights in Nigeria.
Evidence Presented in Court
Investigators told the court that Addax executives allegedly falsified internal documents to classify the transaction as legitimate legal expenses, dismissed employees who raised compliance concerns, and misled auditors reviewing the company’s books.
Okoronkwo later practised law in Los Angeles and reportedly used nearly $1 million from the illicit proceeds as a down payment on a house in Valencia, California. He also failed to report the income on his 2015 tax return.
In October 2025, the court approved the government’s request to seize proceeds from the sale of the Valencia property, amounting to $1,039,997. The forfeiture was part of broader enforcement efforts targeting corruption cases that pass through U.S. financial systems.
