Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, a 58-year-old Nigerian-American lawyer based in Los Angeles, has been found guilty of accepting a $2.1 million bribe while serving as a senior official at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
The bribe was connected to securing favorable drilling rights for Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned oil giant Sinopec. Okoronkwo, also known as “Pollie,” faces up to 25 years in federal prison, with sentencing scheduled for December 1, 2025, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
A four-day trial revealed that Okoronkwo, a dual US-Nigerian citizen and former general manager of NNPCL’s upstream division, abused his position to facilitate a deal that benefited Addax Petroleum.
In October 2015, Addax wired $2,105,263 to Okoronkwo’s law firm’s Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) under the pretense of payment for legal consulting services.
Prosecutors described the payment as a bribe to secure favorable financial terms for Addax’s crude oil drilling operations in Nigeria, which could have cost the company billions if not secured.
The scheme was concealed through a fake engagement letter listing a nonexistent Lagos address for Okoronkwo’s Koreatown-based law firm, which specialized in immigration, family, and personal injury law.
Addax misrepresented the payment as legal fees, misled auditors, and dismissed executives who questioned its legitimacy.
Okoronkwo further obscured the funds by depositing them into his IOLTA, falsely presenting them as client funds.
In November 2017, he used $983,200 of the bribe to make a down payment on a house in Valencia, California.
Okoronkwo was convicted of three counts of transactional money laundering, one count of tax evasion for omitting the $2.1 million from his 2015 tax return, and one count of obstruction of justice for lying to federal investigators in June 2022 about the funds’ use and nature.
He faces up to 10 years per money laundering count, 10 years for obstruction, and 5 years for tax evasion. Currently free on a $50,000 bond, Okoronkwo awaits sentencing before US District Judge John F. Walter.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, with support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Assistant US Attorneys Alexander B. Schwab, Nisha Chandran, and Alexander Su are prosecuting the case.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users