A United States federal court has convicted Paulinus Okoronkwo, a Nigerian-American and former General Manager at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), over a $2.1 million bribery scheme linked to Swiss oil firm Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of China’s Sinopec.
Okoronkwo was found guilty of transactional money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice after a four-day trial in California.
How the Bribery Worked
Prosecutors revealed that in October 2015, Addax Petroleum wired $2.1 million to Okoronkwo’s Los Angeles law firm account, disguising it as consultancy fees. In reality, the payment was a bribe to secure favourable crude oil drilling rights in Nigeria.
Evidence showed that Addax executives falsified documents, misled auditors, and even dismissed staff who questioned the suspicious payment.
Okoronkwo, who also practised law in Koreatown, Los Angeles, allegedly spent nearly $1 million of the funds as a down payment on a house in Valencia, California, while concealing the money from US tax authorities.
Cover-Up Attempts
According to court documents, the ex-NNPC official lied to federal investigators in 2022, claiming the funds were legitimate client money and denying he used them for personal property purchases.
The US Attorney’s Office said:
“The engagement letter Addax signed with Okoronkwo’s law office — using a fake Lagos address — was a ruse to conceal the fact that its payment was a bribe in exchange for his influence on drilling contracts.”
Possible Sentence
US District Judge John Walter has scheduled December 1, 2025, for sentencing. Okoronkwo faces up to:
-
10 years in prison for each money laundering count
-
10 years for obstruction of justice
-
5 years for tax evasion
This means he could spend decades in federal prison if handed consecutive terms.
Leave a Reply