Skip to main content

Former OPEC chairman Diezani’s partner Kola Aluko to lose $25m Los Angeles mansion

Kola Aluko


The United States Department of Justice has begun proceedings to seize a $25m mansion in Los Angeles belonging to Kola Aluko, an ally of Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria.

Aluko and Olajide Omokore, had in 2011 to 2015 allegedly conspired with others to bribe Alison-Madueke in order to win oil production contracts worth $1.5bn, according to a civil forfeiture complaint.

According to Africa Intelligence, the US government told a US District Court in Southern District of Texas that the mansion was bought to “launder ill-gotten gains” from Nigeria.

Aluko, an ally of Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former minister of petroleum resources, has been the subject of various investigations in Nigeria and abroad for allegedly taking part in shady oil contracts.

Properties, including a yacht used by Beyonce and Jay Z for vacation, and a New York penthouse, have been seized from him. The 65-metre Galactica Star superyacht was later auctioned in July 2019.

The US Government, represented by Joshua Lee Sohn, trial attorney at the DoJ, said it had initiated proceedings at the court, which hears many federal asset-forfeiture cases to seize a villa at 755 Sarbonne Road in western Los Angeles acquired in 2012 by Aluko.

This luxurious property, which includes an infinity pool and 1,400 square metres of land on the city’s heights, is estimated to be worth nearly $25m.

It said the mansion was acquired through “specified illegal activity” that justifies its confiscation.

Apart from the application to seize the mansion, the DoJ is also on a hunt for assets acquired on American soil by Aluko and Jide Omokore, another Diezani ally.

The DoJ said the duo received multiple shipments of crude at knock-down prices, resold to trading giants at comfortable profits and invested the proceeds in high-end real estate.

The department said Aluko also bought three other mansions in the US through shell companies, one in Beverly Hills worth $15 million and two in Santa Barbara valued at $33 million.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

American rapper DMX gets lighter sentence after his lawyer played his song in court to sway judge during sentencing

                                  Apparently, rapper DMX got a lighter sentence after a judge heard his rap song in court. During the rapper's recent sentencing, his attorney played the judge "Slipping" an old rap song by DMX and it is believed this helped reduce his sentencing from a possible 5 years in jail to only 365 days. Below is how Boston 25 is reporting it: "A judge heard a DMX rap song before adding his own lyrics to a court proceeding on Wednesday, ordering the rapper imprisoned for a year in a tax fraud case. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff took requests, accommodating DMX's desire to hear his autobiographical hit "Slippin'" before DMX faced the music over his admission of guilt. The judge called DMX's fraud a "brazen and blatant" crime that could not go unpunished. The 47-year-old rapper, known to law enforcement and the courts as Earl Simmons, has been incarcerated since...
Post a Comment
Read more

Woman drags her husband's mistress by her hair after catching them at the airport trying to jet off on a romantic holiday

A furious wife gave her husband and his mistress the embarrassment of their lives after she caught them at the airport jetting off on a romantic holiday. In a video captured by another passenger, the jilted wife can be seen confronting her husband who was wearing his gold wedding ring and his mistress at José María Córdova International Airport in Colombia . The furious wife insulted the pair and went as far as grabbing her love rival by the hair at the airport check-in queue, before her husband tries to fend her off. 'On Saturday you were going to take me out with the little one and today you're taking her,' she can be heard saying in Spanish.'Get rid of her or I'll cause a scandal right now. I'm not going to let go. Hit me if you want so they throw you in jail.' She went on to slam her husband's mistress, calling her a 'prostitute' before turning to her partner and called him 'fake and a liar'. The clip ends ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pizza Hut to shut 29 restaurants putting around 450

  Pizza Hut has announced plans to shut 29 of its 244 UK restaurants, putting around 450 jobs at risk. The highly-popular restaurant chain said it faced 'significant disruption' from the coronavirus pandemic and that the lockdown was so detrimental that 'sales are not expected to fully bounce back until well into 2021.'  A Pizza Hut Restaurants spokeswoman said: "We are committed to doing the right thing, and in order to secure as many jobs as possible and continue serving our communities, we are working to reach an agreement with our creditors. "While we are likely to see 29 Hut closures and 450 job losses, any measures we take aim to protect about 5,000 jobs at our remaining 215 restaurants, as well as the longevity of the business." She added: "We understand this is a difficult time for everyone involved. "We appreciate the support of our business partners and are doing everything we can to help our team members during this process, including...
Post a Comment
Read more