Meet Nigeria’s ‘Crude Oil Gangsters’

As Diezani Allison-Madueke expects a possible Jail term of between 12-15 years in London, if convicted, the former powerful Petroleum Minister Nigeria has ever had, is also expected to name over 200 accomplice who connived, helped or participated in one of the biggest oil fraud Nigeria has ever had.

In a well orchestrated scheme where almost $50Billion was lost in a period in more than five years of her reign as Petroleum Minister, Diezani midwifed oil theft, fraud and money laundering ceespool that milked Nigeria’s oil fortunes.

Sources in London and Abuja have told Pointblanknews.com that Diezani is not prepared to go down alone. She is indeed, preparing to name all her accomplice, tell all, in what may be dubbed “Nigeria’s Oil Fraud Gangsters.

In one year alone, Diezani and her cronies have fraudulently milked Nigeria about $11Billion from offshore processing agreements (OPAs) popularly known as oil swap. And within the Period she midwifed the Petroleum sector, Nigeria lost about $50Billion.

In the well built cell of cronies whom she used at will to perpetrate the most audacious criminal activities in the oil industry, are men who built walls around themselves, spending petro-dollars with impunity, acquiring private jets, yatchs, private islands, undermining and sabotaging the Nigerian economy.

With her arrest, Diezani is said to be ready to name names and implicate all those who know about the deals that saw her become richer than some countries.

Some of those who are expected “feature prominently and perhaps go down with Diezani are: Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, (AKA A.A Oil), Dan Etete, Tope Shonubi, Tonye Cole, Ade Odunsi, Tunde Ayeni, Idahosa Wells Okunbo, Walter Wagbatsoma, Benny Peters, Jide Omokore and Kola Aluko.

Meet Some Members of the ‘Crude Oil Gangsters’

Tunde Ayeni and Idahosa Wells (Ocean Marines Security, PPP FM) The two men since 2011 have been involved in the transportation of five million barrels of crude from Escravos to Warri refinery, and Bonny Island to Port Harcourt refinery, from drilling terminals to the refineries using ships, and circumventing direct linking pipelines, at the cost of N3.063.00($15.4 USD) per barrel of crude.Mrs. Madueke,  Austin Oniwon,Yinka Omorogbe, the legal adviser to the corporation and some others, facilitated the deal for Ocean Marines and PPP Fluid Mechanics.After the Isrealis that had fronted for the two companies were “paid off,” they jerked up the contract sum to N6.7 billion monthly from N1.1 billion ($5.82 million USD) monthly, in the most bizzare manner in a contract that was never bidded for, according to industry sources.
While the deal was expected to supply Warri Refinery with 105.6 million barrels of crude, NNPC records show that the refinery only received 61.2 million barrels, combined. At least half of what was expected by ship alone was not delivered. Ayeni and Wells allegedly pocketed proceeds from
the barrels never recieved by the NNPC.

From his fraudulent proceeds, Ayeni bought major shares in Skye Bank, Mainstreet Bank, bought Ibadan and Yola Discos, Nitel and Ascot.

Sahara Energy (Tope Shonubi, Tonye Cole, Ade Odunsi)
Tope Sonubi, Ade Odunsi and Tonye Cole were some of the few oil magnates who benefited immensely from former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke sleazy administration.

Sahara Energy was allocated  90,000 barrels per day (bpd), through an agreement with Societies Ivorienne De Refinage crude oil by the NNPC and was expected to use proceeds from the sales to import petrol, Kerosene and other petroleum products into the country. On the other hand, some of the companies received crude to be refined in some refineries abroad under a special arrangement and were expected to import the products back into the country.

It was however discovered that the Sahara Energy short-changed the country in the arrangement as the crude allocated to them could not be accounted for. It was suspected that the companies have been selling the crude allocated to them by NNPC without making returns to the government neither did they import the bye products into the country based on the agreement with NNPC. Investigators said Sahara Energy made over $2Billion from the Oil swap deal alone.

NNPC had requested Sahara Energy, with it’s Switzerland subsidiary, Sahara International Pte Limited at 7, Quai du Mont-Blanc, Geneva to refund N6.034 billion ($37.55 million) of subsidies unless a ‘credible explanation’ can be provided on the subject it oil swap transactions. They never did.

A Swiss report stated that Sahara Energy is entirely unable to justify a bank statement showing another $33.7 million while it is among the companies that have not imported the quantities that they should have but who have nevertheless been able to continue their importing activities with flagrant impunity.

Sahara Energy is a major beneficiary of the Petroleum Ministry under Diezani. Even when the OPA agreement of others were canceled, Sahara and Aiteo were the only ones left behind because of their closeness to Diezani, a source close to both companies told Pointblanknews.com.

Jide Omokore, Kola Aluko, Atlantic Energy, Seven Energy 

Without any bidding, the NPDC signed “strategic partnership agreements” worth around $6.6 billion with two local firms to manage them; Seven Energy was awarded three fields; while Atlantic Energy got two. Seven was co-founded in 2004 by Kola Aluko, who also co-owned Atlantic with Jide Omokore. Atlantic was incorporated the day before it signed the deals.

According to the contracts signed with the NPDC, Seven Energy retained 10% of profits in the three oil blocks, while Atlantic got 30% in its two blocks. Unlike Shell, neither firm pays royalties, profit tax or duties to the state.

Both companies wasted no time sub-contracting to other operators, on terms that were neither disclosed to the NPDC nor the NNPC. Atlantic Energy does not publish accounts, but Seven’s 2013 annual report showed its deal with NPDC helped its revenue more than triple to $345 million. In May 2013, House of reps called for investigations into the contracts saying Madueke transferred state assets to private individuals without competitive tender.

But Madueke argued no tender was needed because the contracts involved no sale of equity in the oil fields; the probe failed. Seven said on its website its agreement with NPDC pre-dated the Jonathan administration and included an allowance for taxes. The company claimed it had invested over $500 million, more than doubled production from its three blocks, and paid $48.8 million in taxes in 2013.

Aluko owns a fleet of supercars, including a Ferrari 458 GT2 that he races with Swiss team Kessel Racing. He also owns a $50 million yacht, according to Forbes magazine, and divides his time between a $40 million home in Los Angeles, an $8.6 million duplex on Fifth Avenue in New York, and homes in Abuja and Geneva.

Omokore has also become rich from oil and gas. Forbes estimated his annual revenue at Energy Resources at $400 million. His jet-setting lifestyle matches Aluko in equal measure.

According to SuperYatch.com, Aluko owns the Galactica Star yacht, which he acquired in June 2013. The 65m long Galactica is a unique custom built Super Yacht; the newest and largest Heesen yacht ever built and goes for over $100 million! Beyoncé and Jay-Z celebrated her 32nd birthday on one in Italy this year.

Omokore and Aluko both made $3.9Billion from shady oil deals under Diezani.

  Abubakar Aliyu, Dan Etete/Malabu Oil Scandal
Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, the dimunitive Kogi born has been heavily involved in fraudulent oil deals since the reign of late Gen. Sani Abacha. He is alleged to have been one of those who imported the infamous foul smelling fuel in the late 90’s and early 2000 which killed many Nigerians. Aliyu was a middleman in the yet-to-be resolved Malabu Oil scandal.

Aliyu owns Rocky Top Resources Limited with an account in one of the Abuja branches of Key Stone Bank with number 1005556552, where  $336 million of the $400million Malabu money was transferred to. The remaining balance of $60 million was transferred to account No 3610042596 (allegedly belonging to Etete) for forex trading, leaving zero balance with Malabu’s Keystone bank account.

Of the $336 million transferred into the Rocky Top Resources account, $165 million was subsequently transferred into various individual accounts, leaving the balance of only $171 million, the anti-graft agency’s report said.

According to an EFCC’s report, Rocky Top Resources was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with 100,000 shares capital only and is owned by one Abubakar Aliyu.

Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke and the former Minister for Finance (State) Dr. Yerima Lawal Ngama “instructed the release of $401, 540, 000″ into Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd accounts domiciled with First Bank of Nigeria and $400 million into another Malabu accounts
with Keystone Bank (former Bank PHB).

The EFCC report said “JP Morgan complied with this instruction and made the transfers on 23 August, 2011.” Malabu, controlled by Chief Dan Etete, ex-oil minister, who was convicted of money laundering in France in 2007.

The report further said that first payment of $401 million to Malabu’s First Bank account was distributed directly to A Group Construction Co. Ltd-also co-owned by Abubakar Aliyu ($157m); Mega Tech Engr. Co. Ltd ($180M); Imperial Union Ltd ($34m); Novel Property and Development Ltd-also co-owned by Abubakar Aliyu ($30m); leaving the balance of $143 million Malabu’s account. And “reasons for this payment is yet to be ascertained,” the EFCC report said.

 Benny Peters (Aiteo Energy)

Benny Peters, the owner of Aiteo Energy. Mr. Peters is one of the major beneficiaries from Nigeria’s notoriously fraudulent fuel subsidy payments. A well known crony of Ms. Alison-Madueke, he is also quite close to President Jonathan.

Sometime in 2014, in a hushed deal that fell far short of the requirement of the bureau of public enterprise, the company acquired 85percent stake in OML 29 ,one of the biggest onshore oil blocks from Shell Nigeria for $2.56 billion. The block is believed to have around 2.2 billion barrels of oil and 300 million standard cubic feet of gas.

He fraudulently made $1.5billion from the Oil Swap deal from which it recieved a 90,000 bpd contract from the offshore processing agreements (OPAs)  for which his supplies were short by 193,046,590 litres in 2011. His contract was renewed at the tail end of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and was swiftly canceled by President Mohammadu Buhari.

 Walter Wagbatsoma
Wagbatsoma and his Ontario Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited, allegedly defrauded the Nigerian government of N1.9billion in unearned oil subsidy payments.
Wagbatsoma and his firm, Ontario Oil and Gas Limited, received payment in excess of N414 million by filing fraudulent fuel importation claims.

He is part of numerous fuel marketers standing trial for allegedly defrauding Nigeria by forging documents that enabled them to receive fuel subsidy payments from the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF).