Former Minister of Petroleum Resources
Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke will not be
able to leave the United Kingdom (UK)
until April, next year.
That is when the investigations into
allegations against her are expected to
have been concluded, Judiciary sources
said.
She is expected to be arraigned before the
magistrate for alleged money laundering
and bribery,
Mrs Alison-Madueke was arrested last
week along with four others by the United
Kingdom’s National Crime Agency
(NCA).She was granted bail. Her
international passport was, however,
seized.
On Monday, the London Westminster
Magistrate’s Court on Marylebone
Road approved the holding of the £27,000
cash seized from her, following an
application brought by the NCA under the
Proceeds of Crime Act in the UK.
The court also ruled that the cash can be
held for six months – till April, next year
when she is expected to be arraigned after
investigations.
It was learnt yesterday that the court also
granted the order that she should remain
in London while investigations last.
Mrs Alison-Madueke will only be able to
travel after an application has been
brought before the court and approved.
She had previously denied any wrongdoing
when it was alleged that $20b of oil money
had gone missing when she was in office
between 2010 and 2015
The NCA, which leads the UK law
enforcement’s fight to cut serious and
organised crime, is working in league with
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) in the probe of the
former minister.
Last Friday when Mrs Alison-Madueke was
arrested in London, her Abuja home was
raided by the EFCC.
The NCA has national and international
reach and the mandate and powers to work
in partnership with other law enforcement
organisations to bring the full weight of the
law to bear on serious and organised
criminals.
The Proceeds of Crime Act says: “The
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) sets
out the legislative scheme for the recovery
of criminal assets with criminal
confiscation being the most commonly
used power.
“Confiscation occurs after a conviction has
taken place. Other means of recovering the
proceeds of crime, which do not require a
conviction, are provided for in the Act,
namely civil recovery, cash seizure and
taxation powers.
“The aim of the asset recovery schemes in
POCA is to deny criminals the use of their
assets, recover the proceeds of crime and
disrupt and deter criminality.”
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