A United States District Court in California has convicted Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), in connection with a $2.1 million bribery scheme linked to oil drilling rights in Nigeria.
Okoronkwo, 58, who holds dual citizenship in Nigeria and the United States, is also a practising lawyer based in Los Angeles.
Daily Trust reports that, Okoronkwo was found guilty on multiple counts, including three charges of unlawful monetary transactions, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice.
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According to DAILY TRUST, The verdict followed a four-day trial in August, during which prosecutors presented evidence showing that Okoronkwo received $2,105,263 in October 2015 from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of the Chinese oil giant Sinopec.
Court documents revealed that the funds were wired into the trust account of Okoronkwo’s Los Angeles law firm, purportedly as consultancy fees. Prosecutors argued that the payment was a sham intended to disguise a bribe to secure favourable financial terms for Addax’s drilling operations in Nigeria.
Investigators further established that executives at Addax misrepresented the transaction, misled auditors, and dismissed employees who raised concerns about the deal. The company’s interests in Nigeria were valued in the billions of dollars.
Additional disclosures indicated that in November 2017, Okoronkwo used $983,200 of the illicit funds as a down payment for a property in Valencia, California. He also failed to report the bribe in his 2015 federal tax returns.
When questioned by federal agents in 2022, Okoronkwo allegedly obstructed justice by claiming the funds belonged to a client, not himself. The jury, however, rejected his defence and convicted him on all counts.
Presiding US District Judge John F. Walter scheduled sentencing for December 1, 2025. Okoronkwo faces a maximum of 25 years in prison, with up to 10 years each for unlawful monetary transactions and obstruction of justice, and five years for tax evasion.
The investigation was led by the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, with support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. The case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Alexander Schwab and Nisha Chandran of the Major Frauds Section, alongside Alexander Su from the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section.
Court records indicate that Okoronkwo is currently out on a $50,000 bond while awaiting sentencing. His ties with the NNPC were severed in 2024 following his indictment, according to former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad.
The conviction underscores the ongoing scrutiny of corruption within Nigeria’s oil sector and highlights the implications of international bribery schemes for industry integrity.
