Okoronkwo, 58, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the US and a practising lawyer in Los Angeles, was found guilty on multiple charges, including three counts of unlawful monetary transactions, one count of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice, News360 Nigeria reports.
How the case unfolded
The verdict followed a four-day trial in August, where prosecutors showed that in October 2015, Okoronkwo received $2,105,263 from Addax Petroleum — a Swiss subsidiary of Chinese oil giant Sinopec — disguised as consultancy fees.
US prosecutors said the payment was in fact a bribe to secure favourable terms for Addax’s multi-billion-dollar drilling operations in Nigeria.
Investigations further revealed that Addax executives misled auditors and dismissed staff who questioned the transaction.
Court records showed that in November 2017, Okoronkwo used $983,200 from the illicit funds to make a down payment on a house in Valencia, California, while failing to declare the money in his tax returns.
When federal agents confronted him in 2022, he attempted to obstruct justice by falsely claiming the funds belonged to a client.
What’s next
The jury rejected his defence and convicted him on all counts. Presiding Judge John F. Walter scheduled sentencing for December 1, 2025, where Okoronkwo faces up to 25 years in prison — 10 years each for the unlawful transactions and obstruction charges, and 5 years for tax evasion.
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. Prosecution was handled by Assistant US Attorneys Alexander Schwab, Nisha Chandran, and Alexander Su.
Okoronkwo, who is out on a $50,000 bond, was removed from the NNPCL in 2024 after his indictment, according to former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad.
This conviction marks the latest chapter in a string of corruption scandals involving Nigeria’s oil sector and its international partners.
