{"id":5307,"date":"2017-07-15T17:47:32","date_gmt":"2017-07-15T17:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/diezani-warned-aluko-about-buying-80m-galactica-star\/"},"modified":"2017-07-15T17:47:32","modified_gmt":"2017-07-15T17:47:32","slug":"diezani-warned-aluko-about-buying-80m-galactica-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/diezani-warned-aluko-about-buying-80m-galactica-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Diezani warned Aluko about buying $80m Galactica Star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"description\" readability=\"174\">\n<p>Court documents filed by the US Department of Justice in Houston have revealed that Nigeria\u2019s former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke tried to warn Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, her business partners against lavish spending, including splashing millions of dollars on a yacht.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever. You don\u2019t go and sink <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/get-quick-loan-for-real-estate-investment\/\">funds<\/a> into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch,\u201d she said to Aluko in a recorded conversation.<\/p>\n<p><!-- between content ad --><\/p>\n<p>But her warning was not heeded as Aluko went on to buy Galactica Star, a luxury yacht, for $80million.<\/p>\n<p>The yacht, a stupendous luxury on water, was once rented by Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce for close to a million dollars during a holiday last year. It also once hosted Beyonce\u2019s 32nd birthday in 2013.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_475939\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Diezani-Alison-Madueke.jpg?resize=300%2C458\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/plugins\/lazy-load\/images\/1x1.trans.gif\" class=\"size-full wp-image-475939\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"458\" srcset=\"http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Diezani-Alison-Madueke.jpg 300w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Diezani-Alison-Madueke-196x300.jpg 196w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><noscript><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-475939\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Diezani-Alison-Madueke.jpg?resize=300%2C458\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"458\" srcset=\"http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Diezani-Alison-Madueke.jpg 300w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Diezani-Alison-Madueke-196x300.jpg 196w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diezani Alison-Madueke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Both Aluko and Omokore are alleged to have paid bribes between 2011 and 2015 to Diezani who ensured that shell companies owned by the businessmen received billion-dollar contracts to sell Nigeria\u2019s crude oil.<\/p>\n<p>The oil swap contracts were a controversial barter arrangement which saw Nigeria use middlemen to sell crude oil in exchange for refined products. With local refineries under-performing, oil swap deals were used to shore up local demand for petroleum products.<\/p>\n<p>Between 2010 and 2014, under Diezani\u2019s watch, Nigeria was estimated to have channeled over 352 million barrels of oil worth a total of $35 billion into oil swap deals.<\/p>\n<p>But with the contracts mostly opaque, Nigeria reportedly lost more than $900 million in crude oil swap deals between 2009 and 2012.<\/p>\n<p>The deals came under severe scrutiny with former Central Bank Governor now Emir Muhammadu Sanusi describing them \u201cnot properly structured, monitored and audited.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>President Buhari cancelled the oil swap arrangement in November 2015, seven months after taking office.<\/p>\n<p>The US Justice Department (DOJ) lawsuit has provided more insight into the scale of theft of Nigeria\u2019s oil riches under Diezani Alison-Madueke\u2019s watch.<\/p>\n<p>The civil lawsuit, brought by DOJ\u2019s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, is seeking to recover $144 million in assets, including a $50 million luxury condo apartment in New York and the $80 million yacht.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_830704\" style=\"width: 412px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht.jpg?resize=412%2C275\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/plugins\/lazy-load\/images\/1x1.trans.gif\" class=\"size-full wp-image-830704\" alt=\"\" width=\"412\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht.jpg 412w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-58x39.jpg 58w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-260x174.jpg 260w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-195x130.jpg 195w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-115x77.jpg 115w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\"\/><noscript><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-830704\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht.jpg?resize=412%2C275\" alt=\"\" width=\"412\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht.jpg 412w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-58x39.jpg 58w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-260x174.jpg 260w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-195x130.jpg 195w, http:\/\/d19lga30codh7.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/aluko-yacht-115x77.jpg 115w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aluko\u2019s Galactica Star yacht: costs $80m<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Prosecutors say both assets were proceeds from bribes paid by two Nigerian businessmen for lucrative Nigerian oil contracts. The lawsuit seeks the forfeiture of both assets.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors claim that the businessmen, Kolawole Aluko and Olajide Omokore, laundered money through the US by purchasing lavish assets.<\/p>\n<p>The $50 million New York condo is at One57, located opposite Carnegie Hall in midtown Manhattan. The building currently holds the record for the most-expensive residential sale in New York following a $100.5 million apartment purchase in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Aluko\u2019s $50 million condo is the 8th most expensive in the building, but following a <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/fast-flexible-real-estate-loans-usa\/\">loan<\/a> default, his <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/mortgage-preapproval-guide-for-home-buyers\/\">mortgage<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/construction-loans-for-commercial-and-residential-builders\/\">lenders<\/a> are set to auction the apartment on July 19.<\/p>\n<p>Aluko is also said to have purchased Galactica Star, a $80 million 65-meter yacht which hosted Beyonce\u2019s 32nd birthday bash in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Aluko\u2019s yacht and penthouse are not the only items under scrutiny by the DOJ.<\/p>\n<p>The government also alleges that Aluko, Omokore and others funded a lavish lifestyle for Alison-Madueke.<\/p>\n<p>According to the allegations, they conspired to purchase millions of dollars in <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/property-center-nigeria\/\">real estate<\/a> in and around London for Alison-Madueke and her family members, then renovated and furnished these homes with millions of dollars in <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/best-furniture-pieces-for-your-home-and-office\/\">furniture<\/a>, artwork and other luxury items purchased at two Houston-area furniture stores at Alison-Madueke\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n<p>According to Financial Times, the two are accused of buying a total of four residential properties in and around London worth 11.45 million, and furnishing them with furniture, artwork and other luxury items.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn one day in May 2012, Mr. Aluko was said to have wired $461,500 and $262,091 to two furniture stores in Houston from a Swiss bank account, on behalf of Mrs. Alison-Madueke, the civic complaint filed in the court claimed.<\/p>\n<p>In return, the government alleges Alison-Madueke used her influence to direct a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to award Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) to two shell companies created by Aluko and Omokore: Atlantic <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/the-benefits-of-solar-roofing-for-your-home\/\">Energy<\/a> Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd. and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd. (the Atlantic Companies).<\/p>\n<p>Under the SAAs, the Atlantic Companies were required to finance the exploration and production operations of eight on-shore oil and gas blocks. In return for financing these operations, the companies expected to receive a portion of the oil and gas produced.<\/p>\n<p>However, according to the complaint, the Atlantic Companies provided only a fraction of the agreed upon financing or, in some instances, failed entirely to provide it.<\/p>\n<p>The companies also failed to meet other obligations under the SAAs, including the payment of $120 million entry fee.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, according to the allegations, the companies were permitted to lift and sell more than $1.5 billion worth of Nigerian crude oil.<\/p>\n<p>The government contends the Atlantic Companies then used a series of shell companies and intermediaries to launder a portion of the total proceeds of these arrangements into and through the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>From NAN.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a hre=\"http:\/\/www.vanguardngr.com\/2017\/07\/diezani-warned-aluko-buying-80m-galactica-star\/\"> Vanguard <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Court documents filed by the US Department of Justice in Houston have revealed that Nigeria\u2019s former &hellip; <a title=\"Diezani warned Aluko about buying $80m Galactica Star\" class=\"hm-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/diezani-warned-aluko-about-buying-80m-galactica-star\/\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Diezani warned Aluko about buying $80m Galactica Star<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[1403,15239,3048,1330,4784,12908,543,127,617,408,10043,522,1432,1431,84],"class_list":["post-5307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opportunities-in-new-markets","tag-buy","tag-chase","tag-documents","tag-financial","tag-furniture","tag-home","tag-home-buying-guide","tag-homes","tag-house","tag-mortgage","tag-mortgage-lenders","tag-nigeria","tag-petrol","tag-petroleum","tag-real-estate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Diezani-Alison-Madueke.jpg?fit=300%2C458&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}