US jails Ex-NNPC Executive Over $2.1m Bribe

A United States district court has sentenced Paulinus Okoronkwo, a former senior executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, to 87 months in federal prison over a 2.1 million dollar bribery scheme linked to a Chinese oil company.

Okoronkwo, who previously served as a general manager in the upstream division of the now restructured Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, was convicted on multiple counts including transactional money laundering, tax evasion and obstruction of justice.

The sentence was handed down by John Walter, who also ordered the former oil executive to pay $923,824 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

In addition, the court directed the forfeiture of $1,039,997, representing proceeds from the sale of a residential property tied to the illicit funds.

According to United States prosecutors, the payment originated from Addax Petroleum, a Switzerland based subsidiary of Sinopec, a Chinese state owned petroleum conglomerate.

Prosecutors told the court that the $2.1 million transfer, wired in October 2015 to Okoronkwo’s law firm trust account in Los Angeles, was falsely presented as consultancy fees.

Investigators, however, established that the funds were intended to secure favourable drilling rights in Nigeria.

Evidence presented during trial showed that company executives allegedly falsified internal records to classify the payment as legitimate legal expenses.

Authorities also stated that employees who questioned the transaction were dismissed, while auditors were provided misleading information.

Court filings revealed that nearly 1 million dollars from the bribe was used as a down payment for a home in Valencia, California.

Prosecutors further established that the income was not declared on Okoronkwo’s 2015 tax return, forming the basis of the tax evasion charge.

In a separate ruling last year, the court granted the federal government’s application to forfeit the property located at 25340 Twin Oaks Place, Valencia, after determining that it was purchased with proceeds traceable to the illegal payment.

Okoronkwo was found guilty in August 2025 following a federal trial in California.

The conviction marked the culmination of a years-long investigation into cross border corruption involving energy sector contracts.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, which has since transitioned into a limited liability company under ongoing reforms, has not publicly commented on the sentencing at the time of filing this report.

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