Washington, D.c. — The British police on Thursday arrested a London lawyer, Jeffrey Tesler, who was accused of moving millions of dollars in bribes to Nigerian officials in order to obtain engineering, procurement, and construction contracts (EPC) to build the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) facilities on Bonny Island.
Tesler was arrested after an extradition request from the United States authorities.
The British lawyer and another British national, Wojciech Chodan, were implicated in a decade-long bribery scandal involving Nigerian government officials, according to the United States (US) Justice Department.
Tesler was arrested at a business address in Totteham, north London, on Thursday, the British police said.
"He was taken to a Central London Police Station and appeared before City of Westminster magistrates on Thursday, and was remanded in custody. Tesler returned to the court on Friday," the British police statement said.
According to the indictment, Chodan and other co-conspirators discussed using Tesler to bribe Nigerian officials.
An announcement yesterday by Acting Assistant Attorney General of the US Justice Department (Criminal Division) Rita M. Glavin, said Tesler, 60 and Chodan, 71, were indicted on February 17, 2009 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Both men who hail from Maidenhead England, were charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and ten counts of violating the FCPA.
Tesler and Chodan are expected to forfeit more than $130 million as required by the indictment.
The Justice Department said Tesler was hired in 1995 as an agent of a four-company joint venture that was awarded four EPC contracts by Nigeria LNG Ltd between 1995 and 2004 to build the LNG facilities on Bonny Island.
Chodan on the other hand was a former salesperson and consultant of a UK subsidiary of Kellog, Brown & Root Inc (KBR), one of the four joint venture companies.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the largest shareholder of NLNG, owing 49 per cent of the company.
"At so called cultural meetings, Chodan and other co-conspirators allegedly discussed the use of Tesler and other agents to pay bribes to Nigerian government officials to secure the officials' support for awarding the EPC contracts to the joint venture," the indictment read.
It further revealed that the joint venture hired Tesler to bribe "high-level" Nigerian government officials, including "top-level" executive branch officials. Another agent was hired to bribe "lower-level" government officials, including employees of NLNG.
The indictment also stated that KBR's former CEO, Albert "Jack" Stanley and others had before the award of the EPC contracts met with three successive former holders of a top-level office in the executive branch of the Nigerian government to ask the office holder to designate a representative with whom the joint venture should negotiate bribes.
Stanley and others allegedly negotiated bribe amounts with the office holders' representatives and agreed to hire Tesler and other agents to pay the bribes.
The joint venture, it stated, entered into a series of consulting contracts with a Gibraltar corporation allegedly controlled by Tesler to which the joint venture paid approximately $132 million for Tesler to use to bribe Nigerian government officials.
Furthermore, Tesley allegedly made wire transfer bribe payments to various Nigerian government officials including officials of the executive branch, NNPC, NLNG and for the benefit of a political party in Nigeria.
There is an outstanding arrest warrant in the US for Chodan. The Justice Department is also seeking the extradition of the defendants from the UK to the US to stand trial.
Each defendant faces a maximum prison sentence of 55 years if convicted on all charges. The Justice Depart-ment also stated that an indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
In a related case of bribery, KBR's successor company, Kellog Brown & Root LLC pleaded guilty in February 2009 to charges related to the FCPA and its participation in the bribery of Nigerian government officials.
Kellog Brown & Root LLC was ordered to pay a $402 million fine and to retain an independent compliance monitor for a three-year period to review the design and implementation of its compliance programme as well as make reports to the company and the Department of Justice.
Stanley also pleaded guilty in September 2008 to "conspiring to violate the FCPA for his participation in the bribery scheme." His sentencing has been scheduled for August 27, 2009.
The case is being prosecuted by senior trial attorneys, William J. Stuckwisch and Patrick F. Stokes of the Criminal Division's Fraud section. Investigative assistance is offered by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation in Houston.
It was gathered that the Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance together with SEC's Division of Enforcement and the authorities in France, Switzerland, Italy, UK (in particular the Serious Fraud Office's Anti-Corruption Unit), the London Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police.
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How long will takae anti-corruption bodies like EFCC we have in Nigeria to wade in and bring the officials involved to book? We too need to do some house cleaning in this matter. It is disgraceful and will not rebrand Nigeria in her bid to move forward as announced by the current minister for information. Who will deliver us from this group of vampires.
There is no doubt that the Serious Fraud Office in the UK and the US Justice Department after all their investigations know the very Nigerians to whom the illegal monies were paid and I am equally sure they must have passed the details to the Nigerian government. The fact the EFCC & the Govt. of the day in Nigeria are not prosecuting anybody tells you that the country is operated by criminals. I therefore appeal to the UK & US governments on behalf of my brothers & sisters starving back home to please NAME & SHAME THESE INDIVIDUAL NIGERIANS for the whole world to know the bad eggs amongst us.
Well-said tewin: NAMING & SHAMMING of individual corrupter is the best approach to reduce the levels of global corruption. It was an excellent idea pioneered by Clinton and Blair but instead of NAMING & SHAMMING individual givers, takers, and embezzlers as they do in UK, and US they would rather leave individual Nigerian names out, name, and shame the entire country, to tar us all with the same brush. That is how "Nigeria is the Most Corrupt Country in the World" became the mantra around the globe that was further legitimized by our "Uncle Tom" Colin Powell with his famous "ALL Nigerians are corrupt" mark of Cain, thereby branding us like a slave is branded with the Cain's curse, hence the justification to "...stone him wherever you find him..." racists' biblical interpretation of Abel v Cain. So, what is Akunyili is tryig to re-brand, if not the attitude of foreign racists and their master-slave mentality.
British police and American authorities have metioned the names of the British layer and co. why is efcc still be wasting time in bringing these criminal untorchable Nigerian gorvernment officials to book and make their names published to the public or ar they dead or e.f.c.c are pretending not to know them . I advice e.f.c.c to beg Britain and America to give them since they don,t know all these for years now until foriegn Gorvernments i saying it .It is a pity and she is talking abaut rebranding Nigeria where our past looters are stil moving freely in the country because they are untouchable and E.F.C.C are after only those that ate kobo kobo and live those who EMBESLED BILLIONS OF NAIRA TO BE FREE SPENDING AND ENJOYING THE POOR PEOPLE,S MONEY . CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.