Ex-NNPC Official Convicted in U.S. Court Over $2.1M Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme

A U.S. federal jury has found a former high-ranking official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Paulinus Iheanacho “Pollie” Okoronkwo, guilty on all charges in a multi-million-dollar bribery and money laundering case. The conviction, which came after a four-day trial, exposes an intricate corruption scheme that involved a dual U.S.-Nigerian citizen who used his position to secure illicit gains.

According to evidence presented by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Okoronkwo, who served as the General Manager of the Upstream Division at NNPC, received a bribe of just over $2.1 million from Addax Petroleum, a Switzerland-based subsidiary of China’s state-owned oil giant, Sinopec. The payment was made in October 2015 and was intended to influence Okoronkwo to secure more favorable financial terms for Addax’s crude oil drilling rights in Nigeria.

To conceal the illicit payment, the money was wired to a trust account in the name of Okoronkwo’s Los Angeles law firm, and the transaction was falsely characterized as a payment for legal services. The DOJ revealed that Okoronkwo used a substantial portion of the bribe—nearly $1 million—as a down payment on a house in Valencia, California. He further attempted to cover his tracks by omitting the illegal payment from his 2015 federal income tax return and later lying to federal investigators when questioned about the funds.

Following the guilty verdict, Okoronkwo was convicted on five federal counts: three counts of transactional money laundering, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice. The charges carry a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years for each money laundering count, up to 10 years for the obstruction of justice count, and up to five years for the tax evasion count, which could result in a total of up to 35 years in federal prison.

United States District Judge John F. Walter has scheduled Okoronkwo’s sentencing for December 1, 2025. The case underscores the global reach of U.S. law enforcement in prosecuting foreign corruption and highlights the complex methods used by individuals to launder ill-gotten gains through international financial systems.