The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kola Aluko

  • EFCC to seize Diezani’s, Aluko’s Dubai mansions

    EFCC to seize Diezani’s, Aluko’s Dubai mansions

    $1.5b oil contract probe widens

    Barely 48 hours after the US Department of Justice released details of how part of the $1.5billion oil production contracts funds were laundered, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to seize a mansion belonging to one of the suspects, Kola Aluko, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    Besides, the commission will apply for the forfeiture of two houses belonging to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was implicated by the U.S. authorities as a beneficiary of the laundered cash.

    About five luxury properties have also been traced to a former official of the defunct Oceanic Bank.

    All the properties in question have been identified and documented for forfeiture with the UAE authorities, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    Nigeria signed six agreements with the UAE on January 19, 2016 following a state visit by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The pact includes Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, and Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters (the recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth).

    Besides, the luxury properties in the United States, the EFCC believes Aluko and Mrs. Alison-Madueke allegedly acquired others with the laundered funds.

    According to a source, who pleaded not to be named because he is not allowed to talk to the media on the matter, all the suspicious assets have been located in the highbrow Jumeirah, which is the most expensive and exclusive area in Dubai.

    But of the eight identified, two apartments linked with Mrs Alison-Madueke are marked as J5 Emirates Hills (30million Dirham) and E146 Emirates Hills valued at 44million Dirham.

    For “security reasons”, the addresses of the mansions of Aluko and the ex-Oceanic Bank official, a woman, have not been disclosed.

    The EFCC plans to release the details later.

    A source in the commission said: “The EFCC still has a valid Mareva Injunction to freeze some foreign accounts and seize some assets linked with Diezani and her business associates in the United Kingdom and some jurisdictions.

    “Some of the offshore financial institutions, where accounts are frozen, include BNP Paribas (Switzerland), LGT Bank (Switzerland), Standard Chartered Bank (London),Barclays Bank (London), Standard Energy (Voduz, Switzerland), HSBC (London), Corner Bank (Lugano, Switzerland) and Deutsche Bank (Geneva).

    “Besides the luxury properties traced to Diezani and Aluko in the US, we have identified more in Dubai.

    “So far, we have commenced the process of ensuring the forfeiture of these assets by the suspects. The EFCC is also verifying the assets linked with Aluko’s business partner, Chief Jide Omokore in Dubai too.

    “All the steps taken so far are in line with the relevant laws in the UAE and the six agreements signed with Nigeria when President Buhari went on an official trip.”

    According to the source, the EFCC believes that “some of the assets were bought with part of the $1.5billion oil production contracts.

    ”These oil barons and their ilk acquired these properties when Dubai was a safe haven for looted funds. But the UAE has strengthened its laws in a manner that there is no more hidden place for the corrupt,” the source said, adding that the only hurdle the EFCC has to cross is the legal process in the UAE to retrieve the assets. “We are already employing the Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement to get this done.” He said.

    The Federal Government has ratified all the agreements with the UAE. This development will hasten asset recovery and retrieval of looted funds.

    “We will do our best to comply with their legal procedure,” the source said.

    “Statutorily, we have succeeded in establishing that the EFCC is empowered to confiscate the affected assets. We are invoking sections 7 of 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004.”

    Section 7 says: “The commission has power to (a) cause any investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes.

    “(b) Cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.”

    Sections 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004 empower the anti-graft agency to invoke Interim Assets Forfeiture Clause.

    “Section 28 of the EFCC Act reads: ‘Where a person is arrested for an offence under this Act, the Commission shall immediately trace and attach all the assets and properties of the person acquired as a result of such economic or financial crime and shall thereafter cause to be obtained an interim attachment order from the Court.’

    Section 13 of the Federal High Court Act reads in part: “The Court may grant an injunction or appoint a receiver by an interlocutory order in all cases in which it appears to the Court to be just or convenient so to do.

    (2) Any such order may be made either unconditionally or on such terms and conditions as the Court thinks just.”

  • Kola Aluko’s $50.9m New York penthouse to be auctioned

    Kola Aluko’s $50.9m New York penthouse to be auctioned

    Nigerian energy businessman Kola Aluko, declared wanted by the EFCC, has been identified as the owner of Apartment 79, a penthouse apartment in One57, one of New York City’s most expensive residential buildings.

    However, the apartment would be sold to the highest bidder by a Luxembourg based Banque Havilland, in a foreclosure auction in July, the New York Post reported.

    The penthouse sale is seen as the most expensive foreclosure in New York City.

    Aluko, 48, is believed to be hiding out on his yacht, which he rented to Jay Z and Beyoncé in 2015 for 900,000 dollars a week.

    The energy businessman, who is a friend of stars such as Jay Z and Jamie Foxx, has not been seen for a while, which has sparked rumours that he is hiding away on his yacht, which was last registered in the Bahamas in May.

    Aluko was reportedly last seen in Hong Kong in May and his yacht is currently in the Bahamas, according to the report.

    His bank has also listed the yacht, the Galactica Star, as collateral in the foreclosure, but the yacht is ‘out of range’ at the moment.

    Aluko rented the Galactica Star to Jay Z and Beyoncé in 2015 for 900,000 dollars a week and allegedly showed up at the Ja Rule Fyre Festival in the Bahamas in late April with his yacht.

    The businessman is also close friends with Leonardo DiCaprio and made a large donation to DiCaprio’s environmental charity as well as attended the actor’s birthday party in New York City in 2013.

    The energy tycoon sold a 2.4-acre estate in Montecito, California, to Gwyneth Paltrow for an undermarket 4.9million dollars.

    In 2012, he bought an 11,478-square-foot house in Bel Air for 24.5 million dollars, then sold the property in 2016 for 21.5 million dollars.

    He also owns a home in Beverly Hills that was also purchased in 2012 for 14.7 million dollars.

    Aluko is also avoiding Nigerian authorities who tried to freeze his assets in February as part of a money-laundering probe.

    Apartment 79 was sold to a Aluko in December 2014 for 50.9million dollars, making it the eighth most expensive unit in the building, according to New York City property records.

    Less than a year later however, he took out a 35.5million dollars mortgage from Banque Havilland in Luxembourg to help pay for the apartment.

    When Aluko failed to pay the loan back a year later, the bank took possession of the 6,420-square-foot apartment, according to court documents.

    Now the bank is planning to auction off the four-bedroom apartment on July 19 to regain the mortgage plus interest.

    “It’s probably the most-expensive foreclosure we’ve ever seen in luxury development. I don’t know of a foreclosure that’s larger than that,” Donna Olshan, president of high-end Manhattan brokerage Olshan Realty Inc., told newsmen.

    One57 was built by Extell Development Co. and was the tallest residential building in Manhattan until 432 Park Ave was completed a few months later.

    Construction started on the building in 2009 and finished in 2014, creating a trend of similar ultra-luxury high-rises on 57th street, which has now been coined ‘Billionaire’s Row’.

    Amenities in the building include a 24-hour doorman and concierge, fitness center, yoga studio, private dining room, catering kitchen, library, valet service and on-site parking.

  • Court refuses to unfreeze Diezani’s associates’ assets

    The Federal High Court in Lagos has refused to unfreeze the assets and funds of businessmen Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, who were linked to former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    The Federal Government sued the duo over an alleged $1.8 billion debt.

    Their companies – Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited – were joined in the debt recovery action.

    The Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are the plaintiffs.

    Through their lawyer, Mr. Dipo Okpeseyi (SAN), the  plaintiffs had in May obtained a mareva injunction freezing the defendants’ assets and funds both within and outside the country.

    The judge restrained the defendants and their privies from accessing their funds and assets both within and outside the country pending the determination of the suit.

    The defendants had, however, approached the court with an application, seeking to discharge the mareva injunction.

    The court dismissed the application, holding that the defendants’ assets and funds would remain frozen until the final determination of the substantive suit.

    The mareva injunction granted by the court is binding on all the local and foreign banks where the defendants were believed to have funds.

  • EFCC ‘investigating’ Okonjo- Iweala, Diezani, Aluko

    The former Minister of Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in connection with corruption cases perpetrated during the last administration, the chairman of the anti-graft agency, Ibrahim Magu, said on Monday.

    Magu, who spoke during the budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, added that a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, is also under the EFCC radar.

    Kola Aluko, a close associate of the former Petroleum minister, alleged to have helped in taking a large chunk of the nation’s funds out of the country, is also being investigated by the commission.

    Magu, who responded to questions by a member of the committee, Hon. Razak Atunwa , on whether the two  ex-ministers and Aluko were included in the EFCC investigative list, said “very soon, we will go into the petroleum industry.”

    “Such investigation requires that we have to build capacity, we have to bring in experts to enable us tackle what we are doing properly and the investigation must be conducted properly. We have internal lawyers and external lawyers, we have to pay insurance,” he stated.

    Magu had earlier in his speech asked the committee to consider and approve additional N500 million to assist the EFCC operational activities as more sectors of the economy may come under investigation during the year.”

     

     

  • Kola Aluko is happily married after all

    FOR all the busybodies peddling tales about Kola Aluko, the whiz kid businessman whose highflying lifestyle sounds more like a fairytale, of being an incorrigible playboy with no plan to have a woman under his roof, this news is for you. The gist is not about Aluko’s well publicised love tango with the famous Naomi Campbell, neither is it about his business relationship with the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, which has raised a few eyebrows in many quarters. The CEO of Atlantic Energy, SC can reveal, is happily married after all. The name of the lucky young woman, who sources say Aluko treats like an egg, is Teniola. The lady, we hear, spends most of her time in London and New York, which perhaps explains why many thought her husband is single.