The United States District Court in California has fixed December 1, 2025, for the sentencing of Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, a former general manager at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), who was found guilty of receiving a $2.1 million bribe from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of Sinopec.
Okoronkwo, 58, was convicted after a four-day trial on three counts of transactional money laundering, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), Okoronkwo received the $2.1 million in October 2015 through his law firm’s account, disguising it as payment for consultancy services in a settlement agreement between NNPC and Addax. Investigations, however, revealed the deal was a bribe to secure more favourable drilling rights in Nigeria.
The DoJ further disclosed that Okoronkwo used nearly $1 million of the funds as a down payment for a house in Valencia, California, and failed to declare the money in his 2015 U.S. federal tax return.
He also obstructed justice by lying to federal investigators in 2022 about the use of the funds.
Former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad had in 2024 confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that Okoronkwo was dismissed by the NNPC following his indictment.
United States District Judge John F. Walter will deliver the sentencing. Okoronkwo, who practised law in Koreatown, Los Angeles, remains in FBI custody despite being initially released on a $50,000 bond.
Source: PUNCH newspaper online
