By Erewunmi Peace

A former top official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, risks up to 25 years in prison in the United States after being convicted of receiving a $2.1 million bribe from a Swiss oil company.

In a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, prosecutors revealed that Okoronkwo was found guilty of money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice.

The court heard that Okoronkwo, who later practiced law in Los Angeles, received the $2.1 million payment in October 2015 from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of China’s state-owned oil firm, Sinopec. Although labeled as payment for legal services, investigators determined the funds were a bribe linked to oil drilling rights in Nigeria.

Okoronkwo reportedly deposited the money into his law firm’s trust account, disguising it as client funds. He then used nearly $1 million from the bribe to make a down payment on a home in Valencia, California.

Prosecutors further disclosed that he failed to declare the money on his 2015 U.S. tax returns and later lied to federal investigators in 2022, claiming the funds were for legitimate legal work.

Sentencing has been scheduled for December 1, 2025. The 64-year-old faces a maximum penalty of 10 years for each of the three money laundering counts, 5 years for tax evasion, and 10 years for obstruction of justice.

This conviction marks one of the most high-profile bribery cases involving a former Nigerian oil executive in recent years.