Diezani’s Dominican Republic diplomatic passport protecting her from prosecution – Report

Towards the end of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s
administration, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani
Alison-Madueke, was appointed Commissioner for Trade and Investment
by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of the Commonwealth of Dominica
and was handed a diplomatic passport.

This, perhaps, is why Diezani has been able to evade prosecution
despite being in London for over four years.

According to Qatar-based network, Al Jazeera, the former
minister may have purchased a $2.2m choice property near the United
Nations in upscale Manhattan, New York, for the Dominican Prime
Minister in order to obtain the passport.

In a documentary titled, ‘Diplomats for sale’, Al Jazeera
reveals how politically exposed persons, including leaders of
international drug cartels, purchase diplomatic passports from
Caribbean countries for a fee which ranges between $250,000 and $2m
depending on the personality involved.

The bribe is usually paid to the leader of that country who then
appoints the buyer as an ambassador or a diplomat. The buyer is
subsequently issued with a diplomatic passport which gives him or
her immunity from prosecution based on the Vienna Convention of
1961.

According to the news agency, shortly before Diezani left
office, there were already reports that she had allegedly stolen
billions of dollars.

Worried that the incoming President Muhammadu Buhari’s
administration might probe her, the former minister allegedly fled
to London and obtained a diplomatic passport from the Prime
Minister of Dominican Republic himself.

The report stated, “In London, she (Diezani) is personally
handed a Dominican diplomatic passport by Prime Minister Skerrit; a
passport which could shield her from criminal charges. We found
documents showing a few days later that a shell company is formed
in Delaware, an American state where laws mean the true owners of a
company are kept secret.

“Four months later, that shell company buys a New York apartment
for $2.2m with no mortgage. Property records confirm that the prime
minister’s wife, Melissa, was a resident. Photos placed the Skerrit
family there. Both Diezani and Skerrit deny any links to the
company that bought the apartment.

“Skerrit said the family resided there due to a kind gesture by
an unnamed friend of his wife. He strongly denies any wrongdoing
and says he didn’t demand or receive any money from Madueke.”

The 53-minute documentary also shows how countries like St.
Lucia, Antigua and Grenada all in the Caribbean carry out such
“diplomatic passport for cash” scam.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had in March
lamented the slow pace at which the United Kingdom was handling
Diezani’s case.

The EFCC in a statement said it was baffling that after four
years, Diezani had still not had her day in court.

The statement read in part, “We are intent on bringing Diezani
to justice and despite the spirited efforts of the commission in
ensuring that she returns to Nigeria and face trial, she has been
held back in the UK by an investigation that has spanned almost
four years without any signal about when she will be available in
Nigeria for prosecution.

“The EFCC has been frustrated over Diezani, a development that
prompted it to seek her extradition to Nigeria, so that she can
have her day in court.”

The former minister is alleged to have diverted billions of
dollars and purchased choice properties in several parts of the
world.

Diezani’s cash and properties as well as those linked to her,
worth over $250m, including jewellery, have been forfeited
permanently to the Federal Government by an order of court.