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Bribery: British mining company, Glencore settles with Nigeria, to pay $50m penalty

Published

3 weeks ago

May 25, 2024

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The Federal gGovernment says Glencore, a British mining and trading group, is expected to pay Nigeria a $50 million penalty for bribery.

Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, made the disclosure in Abuja on Friday during the ministerial sectoral update for the present administration.

He said the resolution was reached after the federal government entered a settlement agreement with the firm.

“The ministry on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on April 25, 2024, concluded negotiation of a settlement agreement with Glencore International A.G. wherein Glencore is expected to pay the sum of $50 million as penalty and compensation for certain activities in Nigeria,” he said.

THE GLENCORE TRAGEDY

In May 2022, the United States department of justice said Glencore, and its United Kingdom subsidiaries, entered into multiple agreements to purchase crude oil and refined petroleum products from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) through shady deals.

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In Nigeria alone, the department said Glencore and its subsidiaries paid more than $52 million to the intermediaries, intending that those funds be used, at least in part, to pay bribes to Nigerian officials.

In the same month, Glencore agreed to pay about $1.5 billion in total to resolve investigations in the US, United Kingdom and Brazil — of which $1.06 billion was payable to agencies in the US and Brazil.

A London court, In November 2022, ordered Glencore to pay a $310.6 million (£276.4 million) penalty for seven bribery offences in relation to its oil operations in Africa.

Glencore had pleaded guilty to five counts of bribery in relation to a total of $26.9 million, which was paid “primarily to officials in state-owned oil companies” in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

The company also admitted to two charges of failing to prevent bribery over payments of approximately $1 million to agents in Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan, to secure “valuable oil contracts”.

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When Nigeria, in October 2022, tried to claim compensation from the British mining and trading group, a UK judge ruled that the nation did not have the right to be heard.

FAGBEMI: NIGERIA TO RECEIVE £2.1M FROM BAILIWICK OF JERSEY

Speaking further, Fagbemi said Nigeria is set to receive about £2.1 million in corruption proceeds from the Bailiwick of Jersey.

“The ministry achieved the following successes under its international asset recovery and management efforts,” he said.

“The asset sharing agreement between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Bailiwick of Jersey was signed in February 2024 for the return of £2,125,944 proceeds of corruption.”

Fagbemi said the proceeds have been approved by President Bola Tinubu to continue works on the Abuja-Kano road project.

Related Topics:Attorney-general of the federation Glencore Lateef Fagbemi Minister of justice

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Tinubu govt tackling economic crisis, Presidency replies New York Times

Published

4 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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The Presidency has reacted to a report published in the New York Times criticising the Nigerian economy as facing the worst trajectory in a generation.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, responded on Sunday to the report by Ruth Maclean and Ismail Auwal.

According to the Presidency, the feature story, titled ‘Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation’ and published on June 11, reflected the typical predetermined, reductionist, derogatory, and denigrating way foreign media establishments have reported on African countries for decades.

Onanuga stated that due to the ‘misleading’ slant of the report, the government needed to clear up some misconceptions conveyed by the reporters regarding the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which took office at the end of May 2023.

He noted that the report painted a dire picture of some Nigerians’ experiences amid the inflationary spiral of the last year and unfairly blamed it all on the new administration’s policies.

He argued that the report, based on several interviews, is at best jaundiced, portraying all gloom and doom without mentioning the positive aspects of the economy or the amelioration policies being implemented by the central and state governments.

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Onanuga emphasized that Tinubu did not create the economic problems Nigeria faces today but inherited them.

“As a respected economist in our country once put it, Tinubu inherited a dead economy.

“The economy was bleeding and needed quick surgery to avoid being plunged into the abyss, as happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela,” he noted.

He explained that this context led to the policy direction taken by the government in May/June 2023, including the abrogation of the fuel subsidy regime and the unification of the multiple exchange rates.

Onanuga highlighted that Nigeria had maintained a fuel subsidy regime for decades, which consumed $84.39 billion between 2005 and 2022 from the public treasury, in a country with significant infrastructural deficits and a high need for better social services.

He also alleged that the state oil firm, NNPCL, had accumulated trillions of Naira in debts due to unsustainable subsidy payments.

He noted that when Tinubu took office, no provision was made for fuel subsidy payments in the national budget beyond June 2023.

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“The budget itself had a striking feature: it planned to spend 97 per cent of revenue servicing debt, with little left for recurrent or capital expenditure. The previous government had resorted to massive borrowing to cover such costs.”

Onanuga further explained that like oil, the exchange rate was also subsidized by the government, with an estimated $1.5 billion spent monthly by the CBN to defend the currency against the unquenchable demand for the dollar.

“This low rate led to arbitrage and failures to fulfil remittance obligations to airlines and other foreign businesses, drying up foreign direct investment and investments in the oil sector.

“To address these issues, Tinubu rolled back the subsidy regime and floated the naira on his first day”, Onanuga said.

Despite initial challenges, Onanuga noted that some stability is being restored, with the exchange rate now below N1500 to the dollar and prospects for further appreciation.

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He cited a trade surplus of N6.52 trillion in Q1, as opposed to a deficit of N1.4 trillion in Q4 of 2023, and renewed interest from portfolio investors as indicators of improving economic confidence. Loans from the World Bank, AfDB, and Afreximbank are also contributing to Nigeria’s renewed bankability.

Onanuga highlighted efforts to control inflation, especially food inflation, through increased agricultural production and state-led initiatives to sell food at lower prices.

“The Tinubu administration has invested heavily in dry-season farming and provided incentives to farmers.”

He concluded by comparing Nigeria’s economic challenges with those faced by the USA and Europe, emphasizing that the Tinubu administration is working hard to overcome these difficulties.

“Our country faced economic difficulties in the past, an experience captured in folk songs. Just like we overcame then, we shall overcome our present difficulties very soon.”

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No EndSARS protester in detention, police reply Shehu Sani

Published

5 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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The Nigeria Police Force says none of the protesters arrested during the October 2020 demonstration against police brutality and extrajudicial killings is still in detention.

Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi made this known in a statement on Sunday.

The police described as untrue, claims by Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District, that some of the youths detained for the #EndSARS protest are still in custody.

In 2020, some Nigerian youths took to the streets to protest against police brutality and the situation in the country. But in the wake of the protest, some police stations, formations, and officers were damaged across the country, leading to some arrests.

While some of the arrested protesters were released, others are believed to being held up in various police stations.

At special dinner Organised to mark Democracy Day held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on June 12, 2024, Sani had said those who took part in the protest should also be considered champions of democracy.

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The former lawmaker had asked President Bola Tinubu to pardon those incarcerate over the #EndSARS protest in 2020.

However, the police said the matter had been concluded, “lessons have been learnt. We have forgiven ourselves and moved on”.

“The Nigeria Police affirms that no individual is being unlawfully detained by the Nigeria Police Force or any other security agency in Nigeria due to the EndSARS protes,” the statement partly read.

“All arrested individuals have been processed according to the law, and none remain unlawfully detained. In Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu pardoned approximately 100 suspects arrested by the Police during the protest.

“For emphasis, no one anywhere in Nigeria is under Police detention or being wrongly persecuted for participating in the EndSARS protest. The issues surrounding the protest have been debated, researched, and documented, and lessons have been learnt. We have forgiven ourselves and moved on.

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“We urge the public to disregard this claim and remain assured of our commitment to upholding justice, the rule of law, and human rights.”

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PHOTOS: Sanusi leads traditional Sallah Durbar

Published

8 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, held the traditional Sallah durbar on Sunday.

Following the Eid prayer and sermon at the Kofar Mata Jumu’at mosque as a result of flooding at the usual Eid ground, the Emir embarked on the durbar, riding a horse through Wambai, Zage, Yan Damadan, Shahuci, and back to the palace.

Unlike previous years, this time the Emir was the only one on horseback, with district heads either on foot or in vehicles.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and other cabinet members also attended the Eid prayer.

Security was notably tight, with the Army, Police, Civil Defense, and other operatives positioned to ensure safety throughout the event.

Despite the Police command’s ban on Sallah durbar activities, as reiterated in a recent joint security meeting, the event proceeded under the Governor’s watch.

In contrast, the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, observed his Eid prayer at the Nassarawa mini palace and had announced the cancellation of durbar activities during the Eid-el-Kabir festivities.

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See photos:

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