Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, is facing a high-profile bribery trial in London, accused of accepting luxury goods and using high-end properties owned by industry figures.
British prosecutors claim that energy company founders with lucrative contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) paid for her UK property’s running costs and domestic staff, including a housekeeper, nanny, gardener, and window cleaner.
The court heard that Alison-Madueke had a personal shopper at Harrods, using payment cards from Kolawole Aluko and his company, Tenka Limited, with over £2 million spent at the luxury store.
Aluko, a petroleum and aviation mogul, was mentioned in the Panama Papers leak and allegedly helped smuggle millions of dollars out of Nigeria as kickbacks to Alison-Madueke.
Alison-Madueke, along with oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and her brother Doye Agama, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial is expected to last 12 weeks.
