A former senior official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Paulinus Okoronkwo, has forfeited one of his luxury properties in California, United States, following his conviction for accepting a $2.1 million bribe from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of China’s Sinopec Group.
Okoronkwo, a Nigerian-American who later practised law in Los Angeles, was found guilty in September 2025 of transactional money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice, according to U.S. federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors revealed that while serving as General Manager in NNPC’s upstream division, Okoronkwo abused his office by accepting a $2.1 million payment disguised as consultancy fees — a bribe meant to secure favourable drilling rights for Addax Petroleum in Nigeria.
The illicit payment was wired in October 2015 to the trust account of Okoronkwo’s Los Angeles law firm. Investigations showed he used nearly $1 million of the funds as a down payment on a luxury home in Valencia, California, while concealing the income from U.S. tax authorities.
“Addax executives falsified records to misrepresent the transaction as legal fees, dismissed internal whistleblowers, and misled auditors during internal reviews,” prosecutors told the court.
On October 3, District Judge John Walter granted the U.S. government’s request to seize Okoronkwo’s property located at 25340 Twin Oaks Place, Valencia, California 91381, ruling that the government had proven a direct link between the asset and the criminal offences.
“The Court finds that the government has established the requisite nexus between the forfeitable property and the offences described in Counts 1 through 3 of the First Superseding Indictment,” the judge’s order read.
The forfeiture includes the net proceeds from the sale of the property, identified as Tract Number 45433, Lot 12, with Assessor’s Parcel Number 2826-143-004.
Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(b)(3) and 21 U.S.C. § 853, the U.S. Attorney General — or a designee — has been authorised to immediately seize the asset. The government also issued a 60-day public notice inviting any third party with legitimate claims to come forward.
Okoronkwo’s sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2025, with prosecutors expected to push for a lengthy prison term and additional asset forfeitures tied to the bribery scheme.
The case marks one of the most significant U.S. convictions involving a former Nigerian oil executive and highlights the growing international crackdown on cross-border corruption and illicit financial flows linked to Nigeria’s energy sector.
