A Los Angeles-based lawyer, Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, has been found guilty on five federal charges, including transactional money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice, after a four-day jury trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California reported. The 58-year-old attorney, also known as "Pollie," faces a significant prison sentence after being convicted of receiving a $2.1 million bribe in his role as an officer for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), where he was tasked with negotiating oil drilling rights for a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned oil company.
Serving as general manager for the NNPC's upstream division, Okoronkwo was responsible for the development of Nigeria's fossil fuel and natural gas reserves. While practicing law in Koreatown, he received a bribe from Addax Petroleum, a Switzerland-based subsidiary of Sinopec, to secure favorable drilling rights in Nigeria. Serving as a foreign official, the money was wired to an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) in the name of Okoronkwo’s law firm, which misrepresented the funds as payment for legal services.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Okoronkwo used part of the illicitly obtained funds to make a down payment on a house in Valencia, while also failing to report the bribe on his federal income tax return. In an attempt to cover up the bribe, Addax fired executives who raised concerns about the payment's legitimacy and lied about the transaction during an audit.
District Judge John F. Walter has scheduled sentencing for December 1, where Okoronkwo will confront a statutory maximum sentence of up to 50 years in prison spanning the multiple counts. Currently released on a $50,000 bond. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation led the investigation, with support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander B. Schwab, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division; Nisha Chandran of the Major Frauds Section; and Alexander Su of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section.
