Fresh from the controversy involving the former GMD of the NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, in which cash sums worth $9.3m and £74,000 were found in his house, a fresh new controversy has been revealed.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the agency has discovered $37.5m (N11.75bn) in the Banana Island home of the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, who had already long been under investigation.
Both discoveries were made as part of the investigation into a string of fraudulent activities within the NNPC, which cost the nation an estimated $20bn at the time that oil stood at N100 per barrel on the average.
According to the PUNCH, the building was purchased between 2011 and 2012 and is situated in the same estate where Nigeria’s richest man Aliko Dangote resides. The 15-storey building comprises of 18 flats and 6 penthouses.
The PUNCH reports that an EFCC source asserted, “The aggressive drive by the EFCC to recover all hidden assets of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is under investigation for corruption and money laundering, produced another breakthrough this week with the discovery of a property acquired through shell companies by the former minister at upscale Banana Island in Lagos.”
Diezani has reportedly denied any wrongdoing.