Taleveras, a Nigerian oil trading company named in the bribery scandal involving Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts and its principal owners has denied any wrongdoing.
Taleveras said in a statement issued shortly that it complied with international standards in working with companies which it called ‘third party’.
The company said:
The attention of Taleveras legal team have been drawn to online publications related with a case against Atlantic Drilling Fluids, this legal case is not against Taleveras or Igho Sanomi.
Some of these publications are misleading, grossly inaccurate, it is thus proper to set the record straight.
One of Taleveras core activities since 2000, is sourcing, trading and engaging in third party contracts, inclusive of oil and gas upstream operations. Taleveras due to its capacity, trading expertise and financial strength, continues to source and engage in procuring third party oil contracts. Taleveras performs on these contracts handling the physical delivery, risk management and logistics from start point to its numerous first class end users and major refiners. This process involves verification of the contracts with the issuing authority to authenticate and further compliance with our lending banks internal due diligence processes. This is no different from International Trading Standards performed by the numerous international and major oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria.
As it relates to the US department case against Atlantic Drilling Fluids, please note that Taleveras and the other two major oil trading houses (Glencore and Arcadia) were not faulted for embarking on a legitimate transaction, as all payments were made based on legitimate third party contracts with private companies and not NNPC.
The ultimate aim of contracting is to off-take crude oil from asset productions. It is worthy to note that neither Taleveras nor its associated companies lifted any oil from this production through Atlantic. Terms of the agreement were breached and hence a legal dispute and appropriate filings made in respected court of jurisdiction.
We will thus refrain from making further comments.
It would be recalled that a court sitting in Houston Texas in the United States, the duo of Kola Aluko, Jide Omokore are being tried for alleged bribery and embezzlement of funds to acquire choice property for the erstwhile minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The court has started the hearing has released the charge sheet.
Read the summary below:
This is an action in rem to forfeit approximately $144 million in assets, and any property traceable thereto, derived from an international conspiracy to obtain lucrative business opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas sector in return for corruptly offering and giving millions of dollars’ worth of gifts and benefits to the former Nigerian Minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke (“ALISON-MADUEKE”); and to subsequently launder the proceeds of the illicit business opportunities into and through the United States.
From in or about April 2010 until in or about May 2015, ALISON-MADUEKE—who was often referred to as “the Madam” or “Madam D”—was Nigeria’s Minister for Petroleum Resources. In that role, she was responsible for overseeing Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (“NNPC”).
As alleged herein, Kolawole Akanni Aluko (“ALUKO”), Olajide Omokore (“OMOKORE”), and others: (i) conspired to and did purchase millions of dollars in real estate in and around London, U.K., for the use and benefit of ALISON-MADUEKE and her family; (ii) conspired to and did provide more than one million dollars in furniture, artwork, and other furnishings purchased within the Southern District of Texas, and shipped, in part, to London and Abuja, Nigeria, for the use and benefit of ALISON-MADUEKE and her family; and (iii) conspired to and did otherwise fund a lavish and privileged lifestyle for ALISON-MADUEKE and her family.
As further alleged herein, ALISON-MADUEKE, in return for such improper inducements, used her influence as the Minister for Petroleum Resources to steer to companies beneficially owned by ALUKO and OMOKORE the award of multiple Strategic Alliance Agreements (“SAAs”) with an NNPC subsidiary.
As further alleged herein, the companies that received these SAAs were unqualified and either improperly performed their obligations or, in some instances, failed entirely to perform. Nevertheless, these companies received more than $1.5 billion in revenues through the sale of Nigerian crude oil.
As further alleged herein, ALUKO and OMOKORE laundered their illicit revenues into and through the United States and, in particular, used these revenues to acquire the Defendants In Rem.
As further alleged herein, ALUKO and OMOKORE used a series of shell companies and layered financial transactions to conceal the nature, location, source, and/or ownership of the proceeds of the unlawful conduct and of the Defendants In Rem purchased with such proceeds.
As property constituting, derived from, or traceable to the proceeds of “specified unlawful activity,” as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1956(c)(7), or a conspiracy to commit “specified unlawful activity,” and as property involved in money laundering violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957, the Defendants In Rem are subject to forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. §§ 981(a)(1)(A) and 981(a)(1)(C).
