Alleged $2.4bn illegal crude oil sale to China: What you need to know about the subtle, close-knit plot to fleece Nigeria of millions of dollars of its crude oil through blackmail, intimidation

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN) on Thursday made frantic efforts to refute claims that the country lost over $2.4 billion in revenue from alleged illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil to China in 2015.

The Minister, who finally appeared before  Ad-hoc Committee of the House after several invitations, described the allegations as baseless, unfounded, lacking merit and substance.

According to him, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation had filed a criminal suit against the individuals who purportedly leveled the allegations being investigated by the Ad-hoc Committee.

Persecondnews.com had on Jul 30, 2020 reported a snow job by some international crude oil fraudsters which had triggered a controversial request for the payment of 5 per cent whistleblower compensation in respect of alleged stolen 48 million barrels of crude and ferried to China.

Investigations revealed that the request for the 5 per cent whistleblower’s fee and the allegedly stolen crude were cooked and orchestrated by a serial criminal, Marco Antonio Ramirez, the American associate of the sole administrator of SAMANO and his representative in Nigeria and fugitive wanted in U.S. since 2012, to defraud the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

According to Per Second News findings, the fraudsters and professional blackmailers, their U.S. and Mexican based collaborator and Nigerian lawyer are fraudulently pressing for the compensation as whistleblowers for providing false and unauthenticated information on a non-existent oil deal or “abandoned’’ oil in China.

They had launched a subtle, close-knit plot to fleece Nigeria of millions of dollars of its crude oil through blackmail, intimidation and the use of the media.

SAMANO had claimed that it discovered about 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude oil abandoned in the China ports of Qingdao, Zhoushan and Rhizao in May 2015 before President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration.

Acting on the request of a client in Dominican republic, who claimed it wanted to buy the crude, SAMANO claimed to have contacted the authorities in Nigeria through its representative, Marco A. Ramirez who allegedly got in touch with Mr. Saleh (said to be his friend) with the intention to “investigate and obtain authorization’’ to participate in the sale of the crude at the inception of a new government.

SAMANO also claimed that Saleh informed them that after enquiries that the Nigerian government was not aware of the crude oil in China ports and that it must be an illegitimate transaction ad requested for proof to enable the government investigate it.

The company however, refused to send any proof, insisting that it wanted to deliver the evidence physically to the appropriate government officials in Nigeria. The fraudsters also claimed that the company was invited by Saleh to Nigeria in August 2019 and that a meeting purportedly held between the company and the late Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to the President  to whom they claimed to have delivered the evidence of the abandoned oil in company of Air Commodore Muhammed Umar, Per Second News learnt.

It was gathered that the blackmailers and false whistleblowers alleged that Umar had asked them to address the “information collected’’ on the oil to Malam Mele Kyari, who was the Head of the Crude Oil marketing Division of NNPC  and that after “several purported negotiations and conversations with Kyari and Umar, the Nigerian officials were “convinced’’  that the  oil was in China and that they promised to reward SAMANO with the 5 per cent market value of the 48 million barrels when sold.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VS MARCO A RAMIREZ

But Malami, while debunking the allegations during the resumed Ad-hoc Committee investigation into the alleged crude oil sale amounting to more than $2.4 billion as well as crude oil exports to global destinations from 2014 to date, said the individuals had attempted to defraud the Federal Government under the guise that the alleged crude oil stolen in China had been recovered.

Describing the ongoing investigation initiated by the House of Representatives as unconstitutional and subjudice, Malami said the prosecution of the petitioners which started in 2019 suffered setbacks due to a series of adjournments caused by the absence of the accused persons.

“Why do I say so? Sometime in 2016, allegations were rife and hyped in the social media.

“There were allegations of existence of stolen 48 million barrels of Nigerian crude in China said to have been valued at 2.4 billion.

“President Muhammadu Buhari informally requested the Attorney-General, making reference to my humble person, Mele Kyari, Lawal Daura, former DG of DSS; and late Abba Kyari; to look into it and advise.

“But unfortunately, to be a reasonable ground for suspicion, at least, you require certain basic facts.”

According to the minister, the Office of the Attorney-General was instrumental to the recovery of various sums of money which were deposited in the Asset Recovery Account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

On the recovered funds, payment and disbursement, Malami said: “Ministry of Finance is the coordinator of the whistle-blower policy and all payments to Whistle blowers are made by the federal ministry of finance, budget and national planning.”

After listening to the Justice Minister’s presentation, the Chairman of the House  Committee probing the alleged illegal crude oil sale, Mr Isiaka Ibrahim, requested the Minister to provide official documents to prove that the allegation is baseless.

He insisted that the onus is on Malami in disproving the oil fraud.

Persecondnews also reported that on the suspicion that the non-existent oil had been sold sometime in October or November 2019 after a sales authorization by NNPC, they expressed “frustration’’ that efforts to get the 5 per cent were rebuffed by NNPC, necessitating their resolve either sue the firm in Mexico or London.

They claim that all effort to get the reward they were promised had been rebuffed by NNPC, a reason they had chosen to sue the NNPC in either Mexico or London.

Meanwhile, their lawyer, Mr. Gboyega Oyewole (SAN) had on July 23, 2020 written to the Group Managing Director of NNPC, demanding the payment of the whistleblower’s compensation.

In a four-page letter entitled, “Formal request for the payment of 5 per cent whistleblower compensation for information furnished in respect of crude oil stolen from the Federal Republic of Nigeria’’, Oyewole claimed   that his client (SAMANO SA DE CV) which has “significant interest’’ in the oil and gas refining  business was approached by a group in China with intent to sell 48 million barrels of Bonny Light crude oil, believed to have been stolen from Nigeria and stored in variuos ports and terminals in China and that the NNPC had authorised certain companies to sell the stolen products in China.

The lawyer also threatened that after 14 days if they did not receive a “positive response’’ in respect of the payment  of the whistleblower’s compensation, they might be constrained to go to court for the enforcement of their civil rights.

“On the basis of the integrity of the Nigerian government in its fight against endemic corruption, fairness and dire need to uphold assurances, we humbly urge you to use your good office to intervene promptly and remedy the situation by prevailing on the appropriate authority to pay the compensation legitimately due to our  client,’’ Per Second News quotes the letter copied the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the Director-General of State Security Service.

On the “abandoned’’ oil worth $2.5 billion purportedly sold by Kyari and others which they claimed was not remitted into government coffers, some officials –  Mr. Rabiu Suleiman and Mr. Gbenga Komolafe –  at different times went to China and did not find any oil with Nigeria’s seal or fingerprint.

A source said that the US government, in a reply to the AGF confirmed that Ramirez was a fugitive who was being looked for in America in connection with a $2 million fraud, adding that the US Embassy requested the AGF to facilitate the process of extradition of the alleged crook back to America.

Ramirez, as confirmed by the US government, is a global conman wanted in the US for mail and wire fraud as well as felony.

According to documents in possession of this newspaper Mr. Marco A. Ramirez has been indicted by a district court in Texas for attempt and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, fraud by wire, radio and television.

A United States District Court, according to findings by Per Second News, had issued a bench warrant for his arrest with his wife, Bebe Ramirez and his brother, David Perez.

According to FBI indictment, Marco Ramirez is wanted for various advance fee fraud crimes, and also engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity and conspiracy to commit fraud.

 In court transcripts obtained by Per Second News dated April 26, 2016, the U.S District Court, Southern District Texas ordered for bench warrant against Marco A. Ramirez.