N47.5bn, $487.5m traced to Diezani Alison-Madueke – EFCC

Diezani Alison-Madueke

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has so far traced N47.5billion and $487.5million in cash and properties to former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

In a post on its Facebook page on Tuesday, the anti-graft agency said the discovery followed “painstaking investigation” by its operative.

The disclosure comes a day after the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered that a $37.5m mansion on Banana Island, Lagos linked to Mrs Alison-Madueke should be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

It also ordered that the sums of sums of $2,740,197.96 and N84,537,840.70 realised as rents on the property should equally be forfeited to the government.

The EFCC had on July 19, 2017, obtained a court order to temporarily seize the property designated as Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista Plot 1, Zone N, Federal Government Layout, Banana Island Foreshore Estate, which is said to have 24 apartments, 18 flats and six penthouses.

Justice Chuka Obiozor had directed that the temporary forfeiture order be published in a newspaper and then adjourned till Monday for anyone interested in the property and funds to appear to convince the court why they should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

With no response from any interested party, the judge ordered full forfeiture of what the EFCC said was reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities by Alison-Madueke.

The US Department of Justice had also filed an application seeking the repossession of assets valued at $144 million linked to her.

She is also facing a series of multi-billion-dollar fraud investigations by UK authorities.

Among those named as her accomplices are businessmen Jide Omokore and Kola Aluko.