Fresh details have emerged about the whereabouts of $200m (N81.4billion) fines paid by five companies involved in the $180million Halliburton bribery scam.
The funds were allegedly used to purchase a security helicopter for former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The breakdown of the remittances by the five companies is as follows: Julius Berger ($35m); Siemens (Euros 30m); Snamprogetti ($30m); Halliburton Energy Services ($32,500,000) and Japan Gasoline Corporation ($26, 500,000).
A source involved in the investigation said: “We have made substantial progress in locating the remittance of the fines into an account in the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) but the cash was withdrawn under the guise of security funding.
”One of the five suspects interrogated by our team indicated that the cash was used to buy a customised security helicopter for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. The suspect said the helicopter is still in the presidential fleet.
“But it was not clear if the N81.4billion was spent on the helicopter or part of it. We are trying to find out the cost of the helicopter from the manufacturer. Preliminary findings confirmed that the helicopter could not have cost up to N1billion to N2billion.”