In continuation of its investigation into the N155billion Malabu Oil deal involving former Petroleum Resources Minister, Dan Etete and some top officials of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday interrogated a close associate of both Mr. Etete and Mr. Jonathan, reports Premium Times.
Aliyu Abubakar, a businessman with interest in construction, arrived the agency’s headquarters on Monday morning on the invitation of the EFCC and was still being grilled as at 6 PM.
Mr. Abubakar is being questioned for his alleged role in the laundering and distribution of at least $523million, being part of the proceeds of the controversial Malabu oil deal.
Investigators found that Mr. Etete allegedly transferred the funds into Mr. Abubakar’s account, from where it was diverted into several other accounts of individuals and organizations.
The online news site had on May 24, 2012 reported how the Nigerian subsidiaries of two multinational oil companies, Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (Agip) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (Shell), paid $1.1billion (N155billion) to the Federal Government in April 2011 for onward transmission to Malabu Oil, whose principal is Mr. Etete.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the EFCC had indeed investigated the deal, concluding that the transaction pointed at a “cloudy scene associated with fraudulent dealings”.
The EFCC investigation also clearly established that Mr. Etete’s Malabu only served as a money laundering machine, as substantial parts of the funds was later transferred to various accounts owned by “real and artificial persons” suspected to have links with the Goodluck Jonathan presidency and other government officials.
Presidency sources familiar with the matter said the EFCC intimated then President Jonathan and then Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke of its findings.
“But I can tell you that the investigation suffered a setback since the presidency got wind of it,” one of our sources had said. “There is high-level complicity in the deal and there is therefore high-level cover up. The report is gathering dust on the president’s desk.”
Relying on court papers in the United States (where some consultants sued Malabu for breach of contract), checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and on its own investigations, the EFCC had established that “a prima facie case of conspiracy, breach of trust, theft and money laundering can be established against some real and artificial persons.”
Read the rest of the story in Premium Times.
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