Ex-NNPC Official Convicted In US Over $2.1 Million Bribery Scandal

A United States court has found Paulinus Okoronkwo, a Nigerian lawyer based in Los Angeles and former official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), guilty of accepting a $2.1 million bribe from a Chinese oil company to secure drilling rights in Nigeria.

Okoronkwo, 58, also known as “Pollie”, was convicted of three counts of money laundering, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice after a four-day trial in California.

The verdict was delivered on 29 August, with sentencing scheduled for 1 December before US District Judge John F. Walter.

Bribe Linked to Addax Petroleum Deal

According to prosecutors, Okoronkwo received the bribe in 2015 while serving as General Manager of the NNPC’s Upstream Division, a position that required loyalty to the Nigerian government.

The court found that Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of Sinopec, wired $2.1 million to a trust account linked to Okoronkwo’s Los Angeles law firm under the guise of a “legal consultancy” contract.

However, investigators said the agreement was a sham designed to disguise the bribe, which aimed to help Addax secure more favourable terms for its oil drilling operations in Nigeria — deals worth billions of dollars.

“Addax was seeking to protect its lucrative drilling rights in Nigeria, and the payment to Okoronkwo was part of a corrupt arrangement,” prosecutors told the court.

Money Laundering and Cover-Up

Court documents revealed that in November 2017, Okoronkwo used $983,200 of the illicit funds to make a down payment on a house in Valencia, California, and failed to report the money on his 2015 tax returns.

In 2022, he lied to federal investigators, claiming the funds were client payments rather than personal income.

Addax, meanwhile, allegedly fired executives who questioned the payment and misled auditors about the transaction to conceal the bribe.

Possible Jail Term and Investigation Details

Okoronkwo faces a statutory maximum sentence of:

• 10 years in prison for each of the three money laundering counts,

• 10 years for obstruction of justice, and

• 5 years for tax evasion — a total possible sentence of up to 45 years.

He is currently free on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.

The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Alexander Schwab, Nisha Chandran (Deputy Chief, Major Frauds Section), and Alexander Su (Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section).