Former minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison-Madueke spent more than £2 million at Harrods in London on accessories paid for with funds linked to a government contractor, a UK court heard on Tuesday.
Prosecutors told jurors at Southwark Crown Court that the purchases were made using a payment card belonging to businessman Kolawole Aluko, as well as a debit card linked to his company, Tenka Limited.
According to Reuters, the prosecutor, Alexandra Healy, said Mrs Alison-Madueke lived in London using funds provided by individuals seeking to secure or retain contracts with Nigerian state-owned oil companies.
She told the court that the former minister received properties and goods from people who believed she would use her position to benefit them.
Alison-Madueke is standing trial over corruption allegations after being charged in 2023 with five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
UK authorities said the charges relate to the award of oil and gas contracts during her tenure as petroleum minister.
She served as Nigeria’s oil minister between 2010 and 2015 and was OPEC president from 2014 to 2015.
She left Nigeria for London after the Peoples Democratic Party lost the 2015 presidential election.
She also faces corruption cases in Nigeria, some of which stalled due to her absence and has forfeited properties worth billions of naira following court orders.
Her UK trial began on Monday and is expected to last several weeks.
Under the UK Bribery Act, the charges carry a possible prison term of up to 10 years and an unlimited fine if she is convicted.
Prosecutors said that from late 2011, Alison-Madueke had sole access to a house in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, known as The Falls.
Jurors were shown photographs of the property.
She reportedly stayed there on several occasions over two years and later spent six weeks there while working on a book.
The court heard that domestic staff, including a housekeeper, nanny, gardener and window cleaner, were paid by owners of energy companies with contracts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Prosecutors also said Tenka Limited paid £300,000 for refurbishment work on the house.
Healy told the court that individuals interested in oil and gas contracts with the NNPC, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company provided financial and other benefits to Alison-Madueke between 2011 and 2015.
The court also heard that between May 2011 and January 2014, £500,000 was paid in rent for two flats in central London where Alison-Madueke lived with her mother.
Prosecutors said company records showed the rent was paid by Tenka Limited.
Alison-Madueke has denied all charges.
Her brother, Doye Agama, who is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, also denied the allegations and joined the trial by video link for medical reasons.
Alison-Madueke is standing trial alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, who is charged with one count of bribery relating to her and another count involving the bribery of a foreign public official.
Mrs Ayinde has also denied the charges.
Prosecutors further alleged that Alison-Madueke received other benefits, including the use of a chauffeur-driven car, a private jet and payment of her son’s school fees by Nigerian businessman Benedict Peters, who is named in the indictment but is not on trial.
Healy told the court that Aluko spent more than £2 million on items for Alison-Madueke at Harrods alone.
She said he also provided a property outside London, bought through a company for £3.25 million and paid associated bills, staff and refurbishment costs.
Ayinde is accused of bribing Alison-Madueke between 2012 and 2014 and of bribing a former NNPC managing director, Emmanuel Kachikwu, in 2015.
Prosecutors said this was to ensure continued influence within the NNPC after a change in government.
Healy said the case was being heard in London due to links the defendants had to the UK, adding that corruption cases with international connections fell within the court’s jurisdiction.
