*To U.S, other countries
OpeOluwani Akintayo
25 October 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos — A fresh investigation has uncovered over $17 billion of undeclared Nigerian crude oil, sold to the United States and other countries of the world.
In a live interview with Attorney General of Houston-based, Texas Loumos Group, Jerome Stanley conducted by a House of Representative member, Hon. E.J Agbonayinma, obtained by SweetcrudeReports, it was revealed that some International Oil Companies, IOCs in Nigeria, sold the crude oil to foreign buyers and failed to declare the money to the Nigerian government.
Although Stanley did not mention the names of the IOCs involved in the shady transaction, however, he claimed that the buyers are based in the U.S.
The attorney general said the case was first filed in a Nigerian court, however, alleged that some Nigerian government officials, frustrated all efforts to get details of the transactions before time frame for the case elapsed.
Currently, he said the case has been taken to the U.S where it is easier for the court to force the buyers of the crude oil who are domiciled in the U.S, to provide information about who the sellers were and who the money was paid to, unlike in Nigeria where the court was unable to force the government officials to provide details of the transaction.
“Initially, it was decided that we start the cases against the companies that we thought were selling undeclared oil and sue the Nigerian subsidiaries but time has since elapsed without the progress we expected.”
“The subsidiaries in Nigeria engaged buyers in the United States and we have found it difficult to get the branches of the Nigerian government to give us details about the transactions so that we can match the payment with shipment deliveries that came into the United States. So we decided to take the case back to the U.S so that the court can force the buyers to provide information about the transaction and where the money they paid ended up. If we do that, instead of starting it up here, we can start it against the subsidiaries in the United States where we will have a very good chance of success.”
“It’s been very difficult asking courts in Nigeria to force the defendants to provide information about the transaction but it is not so in the United States. There, the court will force the defendant to provide all the information you need to prove your case because in every case, the defendant has the information. The plaintiff merely has pieces of it. So, if the defendant cannot be forced by the court here then, the case will be very difficult to win.”
“If the court in the U.S forces the buyers to give us information then, we can trace it to the sellers and follow the money and who they were dealing with.”
When asked what message he had for the Nigerian government Stanley described the money from the deal as “a lot”, adding that Nigeria has to get the money back.
“There’s a lot of money that has been taken from the people of Nigeria and they deserve to get it back”, he said in the almost five minutes video.
