Following the release of the full judgment in the criminal trial of Eni, Shell and others for international corruption related to the acquisition of the OPL 245 oil field in Nigeria by the Milan Tribunal where defendants were all acquitted in March 2021 as the tribunal ruled that they had no case to answer, international anticorruption groups led by Global Witness, HEDA, Re:Common and Corner House have asked the Nigerian Government to appeal the against the judgement which, if allowed to stand, creates a terrible precedent for the global fight against corruption and the ability to hold fossil fuel companies to account. The judges ruled that even “proof of the unlawful payment or the unlawfulness of the act are not considered sufficient, even jointly, to constitute proof of the offence of domestic or international bribery”. The judges found that “demonstration of the agreement between the parties” on corruption was required. In the judges’ view, no evidence of such an express agreement was found. Commenting on the judgment, a spokesperson for campaign groups Global Witness, HEDA, Re:Common and Corner House said: “The judgment lays bare the stinking carcass of the OPL 245 deal. Many will be mystified by the conclusions drawn by the judges. The bar they have set for a conviction for international corruption is impossibly high – presenting companies with a “get out of jail free” card. We urge the public prosecutor to appeal this judgment, which, if allowed to stand, creates a terrible precedent for the global fight against corruption and the ability to hold fossil fuel companies to account.” In their full judgment, the judges expressed concerns about the movement of nearly half a billion dollars into cash from the deal, stating “that the amount of untraceable money, moved in the manner described is circumstantial proof of the generically illicit nature of the payments derived from the from the proceeds of OPL 245, it is not, however, possible to agree with the conclusive assumption that a large part of that sum cash – if not all of it – ended up in the hands of the Nigerian public officials who made possible the illicit agreements on OPL 245.” The judges found that the money from the OPL 245 deal went to Dan Etete, a former oil minister who while in office awarded the block to Malabu, a company he controlled. The judges also ruled that Nigeria’s Attorney General Mohammed Adoke did receive money from the OPL 245 deal. However, the judges found that the money may have represented payment of a prior debt owed by Etete and that there was no evidence of a corrupt agreement. Adoke has denied wrongdoing and says the payment was as part of a property transaction with Abubakar Aliyu who has also denied wrongdoing, neither were defendants in the Milan trial. The groups said they would be examining the judgement closely to see how it aligns with international anti-corruption standards. The expiry date for Shell and Eni’s license to explore the OPL 245 block has now passed. No approval has been authorised by the Nigerian government for the block to be developed.

Nigeria has been ranked ranks fifth among countries with the most politically exposed persons involved in real estate money laundering schemes in the United States, according to an American think-tank, Global Financial Integrity which focuses on illicit financial flows, corruption, illicit trade and money laundering in a report tilted: “Acres Of Money Laundering: Why American Real Estate Companies are the Dream of the Kleptocracy.” Mexico leads the world political class that hides its illicit profits abroad, along with Venezuela, Guatemala, and Malaysia. The report shows an analysis of 125 cases by Global Finance Integrity, which includes Nigerian government officials with an estimate that between 2015 and 2020, at least $2.3 trillion was laundered in the United States real estate sector, including acquisition of personal assets like art, jewelries, and yachts which cost a fortune. The case of former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and her business associates Kolawole Akanni Aluko and Olajide Omokore acquiring assets in Manhattan, California, and London through profits gained from selling Nigerian crude oil to third party oil trading companies is an example of Nigerians buying the most properties inthe United Statesto launder money, the report cited. According to the report, through this scheme, Madueke and her coconspirators acquired over US$1.5 billion in profits that were then laundered into real estate, yachts, aircrafts and jewelry. In a 2017 forfeiture complaint, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sought the forfeiture of US$144 million in assets, including two condos in Manhattan, two property in California, property in London and an estimated US$80 million luxury yacht acquired by Aluko in 2012. These numbers did not include the 80 property Madueke had also acquired in Nigeria. Global Financial Integrity in the report provided five cogent reasons why criminals choose real estate as their preferred money laundering means: “The value of real estate is generally stable and appreciates over time. This allows criminals to accumulate wealth while erasing its nefarious origins; real estate transactions – both commercial and residential – are subject to limited oversight. This makes it easy to hide ownership of these assets while at the same time being able to flaunt in plain sight the evidence of ill-gotten wealth; real estate can be used to turn an initially illicit investment into a legitimate income-generating enterprise through rentals or property development; “Increased scrutiny over the ownership and use of bank accounts has meant that criminals have to find new ways to hide their money; and by safeguarding wealth in assets where ownership interests are hard to trace, criminals can protect their wealth from asset recovery efforts in their home jurisdiction, whether from legitimate authorities or the next usurper to grab power.” The report concluded that the US government needs to adopt a more robust approach in addressing the issue, including requiring real estate agents to identify the beneficial owner of a residential real estate purchase and making legal professionals the lead reporting entity for identifying money laundering risks in commercial real estate transactions.