Fresh details have emerged that a British executive has received millions of pounds from Malabu’s notorious multi-billion dollar oil deal.
In multiple court documents, Peter Bosworth and the trading firm he ran, Arcadia Petroleum, were named as one of the recipients of the deal’s funds, documents obtained from the London partner of this newspaper, Finance Uncovered, and The Times.
The Malabu deal is the subject of Milan’s criminal proceedings. In one case, two intermediaries were convicted, while Shell and Eni, two multinationals at the center of the controversial deal, as well as some of their officials are being prosecuted as well.
The deal is also the subject of civil action in the United Kingdom, where Nigeria filed a lawsuit against the multinational oil companies and JP Morgan, the bank through which the funds went.
Shell, Eni, some of their ex-officials and two former ministers from Nigeria are also being prosecuted in Nigeria for their scandal roles.
Finance Uncovered found that Mr Bosworth, aged 55 and Arcadia Petroleum were named to receive $ 16 million from the deal together.
The Malabu scandal involved the transfer of about $ 1.1 billion to accounts controlled by a former Nigerian oil minister, Dan Etete, by oil multinationals, Shell and ENI, through the Nigerian government.
Approximately half of the money ($ 520 million) went to the accounts of companies jointly controlled by Abubakar Aliyu, popularly known as the owner of AA oil in Nigeria, and Mr. Etete
Anti-corruption investigators and activists suspect that Mr. Aliyu is representing top Goodluck Jonathan administration officials as well as Shell and ENI officials.
Mr Jonathan authorized the transaction in 2011 through some of his ministers in the cabinet, and the money was payment for OPL 245, one of the richest oil blocks in Nigeria.
Although initially Shell and ENI claimed that they did not know that the money would end up with Mr Etete and his cronies, evidence has shown that claim to be false.
Shell admitted later that he knew the money was going to go to Mr Etete. In Italy, Shell, Eni, Mr Etete, Mr Aliyu and several oil company officials are being prosecuted for their scandalous roles.
Mr Etete acquired luxury properties in Dubai with funds believed to have come from the controversial deal. In April, the EFCC was urged to seize a private jet purchased by Mr Etete from money he allegedly made from the Malabu deal.
Details of the personality of Mr Bosworth remain quite sketchy. There is little information about him available to the public and he has no accessible photographs. He joined Arcadia Petroleum in 1992 and rose to the position of Chief Executive in 2000. The commodity trading group is owned by a Norwegian billionaire, John Fredriksen.
Meanwhile, Mr Bosworth left Arcadia Petroleum in 2013 and has since been charged by the company on separate allegations that he and another senior executive jointly committed $ 335 million in fraud against him. Although the allegations are denied by both men, the case continues.
Nigeria said it is “investigating the reasons” for the payments and it is understood that it is considering legal action to try to get the money back.
Arcadia Petroleum and Mr Bosworth are not parties in any of the proceedings in Italy and both deny any wrongdoing. Mr Bosworth lawyer told Finance Uncovered and The Times that OPL 245 had not brought any proceedings against him.
But a huge cache of leaked emails and payment records compiled by Italian prosecutors reveals connections between Mr Bosworth, Arcadia Petroleum and Mr Etete, who had been convicted in the past of money laundering. The documents suggest that Mr Bosworth has advised Mr Etete on matters relating to OPL 245 and that Arcadia has paid Mr Etete for flights and hotels for several years spanning the 2011 deal.
This newspaper understands that the documents also seem to show that some of the money Arcadia received from the deal was set against the company’s debts to Mr Bosworth after purchasing on his behalf a “sumptuous” Swiss château.
Mr Bosworth said in his reaction that in his dealings with Mr Etete, he had “no reason to believe that anything was either unlawful or corrupt.” He admitted giving some “informal advice” to Mr Etete but argued that he was “not involved in the transaction OPL 245.”
In London, the Nigerian government has a new claim aimed at recovering money paid in bribes and seeking damages through the “fraudulent and corrupt scheme.”
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Jabi, Abuja, also granted Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prayers for an arrest warrant against Nigerian officials involved in the controversial deal last month.
The officials are Mr Etete and a former minister of justice, Mohammed Adoke. Foreigners such as Raph Wetzels, Casula Roberto, Pujato Stefano, and Burrato Sebastiano were also declared wanted.