23 December 2016, Abuja – Charged with aiding and abetting money laundering in the $1.1 billion Malabu deal, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr. Adoke also restated his earlier claim that he represented the government in negotiating a deal between willing parties. He pledged to make himself available for trial.
“I hope to at the appropriate time make myself available to defend the charge for what whatever its worth,” he said from his base in the Netherlands.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr. Adoke said his office brokered the agreement between Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Limited to prevent Nigeria from paying a fine of $2 billion as damages for breach of contract.
He added that his office involvement was based on previous claims made by Shell before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
“I wish to reiterate that I acted within the actual and ostensible authority of the Office I occupied to broker a settlement between Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited in order to ward off the over US$2 Billion Dollars liability in damages for breach of contract which the country would have been exposed to in the likely event of the success of Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited’s claim before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
- Premium Times
