THE Federal Government yesterday gave an update on its bid to unmask the senior Nigerian officials that allegedly collected bribe from Halliburton to award contracts in the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) projects.
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Kaase Michael Aondoakaa, who heads the Nigerian team liaising with countries, whose nationals and corporations are linked with the scam, said the government was yet to get the names of the affected Nigerians, especially from the United States (U.S.).
But in the course of its investigation, Aondoakaa said the government discovered that $150 million of the $180 million Halliburton bribe fund was trapped in Zurich, Switzerland.
He spoke on the matter in Abuja yesterday before the start of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
The minister said though it has information on the Halliburton scandal over the construction of Trains One to Trains Seven, the government would only act if the classified documents detailing the evidence in the custody of the U.S. government were released to it.
He said the government could not initiate the prosecution of the suspects on media reports but on the basis of evidence.
Aondoakaa said: “The judgment (in U.S.) is under seal. And you are talking as if we are the people that sealed the names in the court. So, you can’t get the names except the U.S. government released them under classified information. And you are talking as if the President has the names. All these names you get, let me make it clear to you, government does not prosecute out of the newspapers’ cuttings. If somebody said I voted $40 million for you, which is his own wish, and if the money does not reach you, can I come and prosecute you because in his book he wrote $40 million.
“There must be evidence that must be tendered to show that that money was handed over to you. Is it through wire transfer? Is it through somebody? So, these are some of the things we want to establish. The main fact that somebody wrote in his book that I have voted $40 million that he wants to use to bribe you does not mean that you have taken bribe. He can vote that money and pocket it. For instance, we have discovered that $150 million of the bribe money is in Zurich. That is the first shocking discovery. The entire money is $180 million. $150 million is already in Zurich trapped there.”
Detailing the efforts made in getting evidence towards prosecuting the suspects, Aondoakaa said: “I went to U.S. and we had useful information. But when we have official information, I don’t want to rely on just information. For me, even if you are talking to me, sharing ideas with me, I must have all the information authenticated by the government and the U.S. government has been very friendly to us.”
Prior to the minister’s revelation, a well-known international corruption investigator and former top U.S. official, Jack Blum, had said he was informally briefing the Nigerian government on the Halliburton scandal.
But his testimony and others also show hurdles Nigeria may face in accessing the required information on the bribery scandal, especially given what a source referred to as “Nigeria’s unclear intention over genuine prosecution of the culprits.”
Blum said Nigeria through the Justice Ministry and the Office of the Attorney-General, had engaged him informally on how to get the U.S. authorities to release the information and evidence on the scandal, which involved some Nigerian officials.
Blum, who is a United Nations’ (UN) expert on corruption and revealing looted assets, said he had previously interacted with the Olusegun Obasanjo administration during its first term between 1999 and 2003, adding though that the Obasanjo Administration was only interested then in the Abacha loot.
Blum spoke as sources revealed to The Guardian in the U.S. that the American government received Nigeria’s attorney-general’s request on the Halliburton case last Wednesday at both the U.S. State and Justice departments.
But the sources said while the Nigerian government is making a request to the U.S. based on the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty-MLAT-between both countries, it was yet to respond to several mutual legal assistance requests from the U.S. on investigations on money-laundering and drug trafficking.
In a letter dated March 30, Nigeria reminded the U.S. State Department of the first one in which the government requested for America’s assistance to enable it prosecute Nigerians involved in the bribery scandal.