The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said it recovered cash and other assets valued in excess of N38.66bn in the course of its ongoing probe into the alleged misappropriation of funds budgeted for the rehabilitation and turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
The anti-corruption commission stated that the recovered assets followed the expansion of its investigation into the utilisation of billions of naira allocated to overhaul Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries. The probe has now implicated former and serving officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and contractors involved in some parts of the refinery rehabilitation projects.
The recovered assets include cash, land and other valuable investments allegedly obtained using the proceeds of the fraud, EFCC officials confirmed.
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The commission said a forensic examination of the books of account, contractual documents and tracing of assets are ongoing to establish the extent of the alleged fraud.
Sources privy to the investigation said some top officials of the NNPC and contractors have been questioned by EFCC officials, with more suspects expected to be invited to answer questions as the probe continues. Those found guilty could be charged with offences ranging from conspiracy and abuse of power to fraud, money laundering and diversion of funds.
The case has been revolving around monies expended by the Nigerian government over several years on the rehabilitation and turnaround maintenance of its ageing refineries. This was designed to restore the country’s domestic refining capacity and decrease its reliance on imported petroleum products.
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The probe is part of the anti-corruption war, which aims at tracking down stolen funds, contract inflations and procurement fraud in critical sectors.
The commission reiterated its commitment to ensuring accountability in the management of public resources, stressing that all those found to have participated in the alleged diversion of refinery rehabilitation funds would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
