EPCC recoups $897 mln from oil marketers

ABUJA, August 9, 2017 – Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EPCC) recovered nearly NGN 329 billion (USD 897 million) from major petroleum marketers between July 2016 and July 2017, the institution announced Tuesday.

Adamu Hamisu-Danmusa, the EFCC’s northwest head of operations, told the press the investigation had been triggered by a complaint from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, or Ipman.

“The Ipman reported to the commission that there are some major marketers that connived with NNPC [Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation] officials and received fuel allocation but refused to pay the money into the Treasury Single Account. So after investigation, we were able to find out that there is NGN 349.8 billion as legacy/bad debts and debts on current transactions,” Hamisu-Danmusa said in a press briefing, adding that efforts to recover the remaining NGN 20 billion (USD 54.5 million) were ongoing.

The announcement came a day after a Nigerian court ordered the permanent forfeiture of more than USD 40 million in assets belonging to former Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke following a separate EPCC investigation.

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