A United States district court sentenced Paulinus Okoronkwo, a former general manager at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to 87 months in federal prison on February 23, 2026, for receiving a $2.1 million bribe linked to oil drilling rights in Nigeria. Okoronkwo, 58, was convicted of transactional money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice.
The bribe, paid by Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned Sinopec, was disguised as consultancy fees but was actually meant to secure favorable drilling rights. Okoronkwo used nearly $1 million of the bribe to buy a home in California and failed to declare the income on his 2015 tax return.
Judge John F. Walter also ordered Okoronkwo to pay $923,824 in restitution to the IRS and forfeit $1,039,997, the net proceeds from the sale of his home. The court had previously granted the government’s application to forfeit the property in October 2025.
Stay informed about the latest developments affecting Nigerians in the diaspora!
Folliwbus for more updates:
facebook.com/TheNidm
www.thenidm.com
#JusticeServed
