A former senior official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, has been sentenced to 87 months in a United States federal prison for accepting a $2.1 million bribe while serving at Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm.
The 58-year-old, also known as “Pollie,” was ordered to pay $923,824 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and to forfeit $1,039,997, representing proceeds from a property linked to laundering the bribe.
Federal Court Details Corruption and Money Laundering Charges
The sentence was delivered by United States District Judge John F. Walter following a four-day trial in August 2025, according to the US Department of Justice. Court documents show that Okoronkwo was convicted on three counts of transactional money laundering, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice.
The Department of Justice statement noted:
“A Los Angeles-area lawyer was sentenced today to 87 months in federal prison for receiving a $2.1 million bribe while serving as an officer of Nigeria’s state-owned oil company in connection with negotiating favourable drilling rights for a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned oil company.”
How the Bribe Was Concealed
According to the indictment, in October 2015, Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of Sinopec, wired $2,105,263 to an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) managed by Okoronkwo’s Los Angeles law firm. While the funds were disguised as consultancy fees for negotiating drilling rights in Nigeria, prosecutors argued the payment was a bribe intended to secure favorable terms for Addax’s crude oil operations.
Investigators also found that the engagement letter used a fictitious Lagos address to hide the transaction’s true nature. Part of the money was routed through IPO Capital LLC and used for personal purchases, including a vehicle and a residential property in Valencia, California.
Okoronkwo, who held dual US–Nigerian citizenship and practised law in Los Angeles, also failed to declare the $2.1 million on his 2015 federal income tax return. He later obstructed justice by falsely claiming the funds were client monies, not personal income.
Consequences and Professional Fallout
Following the scandal, Okoronkwo was dismissed from NNPC and had his California law license suspended in January 2026.
