Malabu oil: Adoke denies money laundering charge

FORMER Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has denied alleged complicity in the OPL 245 settlement agreement involving the Federal Government of Nigeria, Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited.

Noting money laundering charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against him and others, Adoke argued that he acted within his statutory powers to broker a settlement between the parties and, therefore, ward off over $2 billion liability in damages for breaching the contract.

Holding on to the terms of the agreement, he noted that it was unthinkable for his office to renege on the agreement reached by denying Malabu Oil and Gas Limited benefits associated with relinquishing their title to OPL 245 or preventing the subsequent reallocation of the relinquished OPL 245 to Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep limited.

He, therefore, expressed surprise at the allegation of aiding money laundering by the EFCC, noting that he acted without getting benefits from the transaction and based on approvals from the president to broker and execute the OPL 245 settlement agreement.

“My attention has been drawn to the charges filed by the EFCC against me and other named individuals and companies in respect of OPL 245 Settlement Agreement involving Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited.

“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 $2 billion 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).

“The terms of settlement ensured that the interests of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited were duly acknowledged and provided for in the settlement agreement. The Federal Government of Nigeria was entitled to the signature bonus which was duly paid; Malabu Oil & Gas Limited surrendered its title to OPL 245 for a consideration and Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited was re-allocated OPL 245, which it had previously substantially de-risked in consideration for withdrawing their over $2 billion claim for breach of contract against the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

“Since the parties aforementioned faithfully discharged their respective obligations under the settlement agreement, one cannot comprehend how the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, which brokered the settlement, was expected to renege from the agreement by denying Malabu Oil & Gas Limited the benefits associated  with the relinquishing of their title to OPL 245 already warehoused in a joint FGN/Shell Escrow account, or to prevent the subsequent re-allocation of the relinquished OPL 245 to vShell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited when the company had already furnished consideration for it to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the statement read.