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SHELL NAMED IN WILLBROSS $6MILLION BRIBE

…I AM BEING BLACKMAILED - Atiku
Mr. Basil Omiyi, Shell MD

There are new revelations that some officials of Shell Development Corporation, SPDC may have benefited from the allegation of $6 Million bribe allegedly distributed by Willbross Group to secure contract for the Eastern Gas Gathering System, EGGS, in Nigeria.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is alleging a thick plot of blackmail concerning the bribe saga.

Documents obtained by pointblanknews.com revealed that some officials of Shell had promised to help Willbross Group secure and retain the plum contract.

The EGGS phase 1 contract price was approximately $216, 500.000, the EGGS Coating optional scope price was approximately $30,000.000 and the EGGS phase 2 price was approximately $141,000,000, for a combined total scope of work price of approximately $387, 5000,000.

Pointblanknews.com discovered a careful and meticulous pattern by SPDC (Shell) to hide its track concerning usual involvement in controversial incidents. Only recently, Shell managing Director, Mr. Basil Omiyi was a guest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, where he had gone to answer questions with regards to some “shady” deals with a Nigerian Bank. The matter was given a disturbing media blackout.

SPDC is almost escaping without being given any notable mention despite its heavy involvement in the Willbross bribery scandal.

The former General Manager of Wilbross International, Mr. Jason Edward Steph is presently facing prosecution under the foreign corrupt Act for being the mastermind that distributed $6 Million to senior Nigerian government official, Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP stalwarts, NNPC officials, National Petroleum Investment management Services, NAPIMS and SPDC.
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The revelations from Steph are both damning and startling. There are speculations that former Group Managing Director of NNPC, Funso Kupolokun may have benefited from the crime to the tune of $150,000 while Mr. Edward Doukuro allegedly collected $30,000. Mr. Philip Chukwu formerly of NAPIMS and now of NETCO benefited to the tune $250,000. Other names included Gibson Okeke, the only name on the list with a surname, who was accused of collecting $150,000. There are controversies on whether former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was part of the deal.

A document made available to poitntblanknews.com at the weekend by a source revealed that a Nigerian Government official code named “Number 2” was initially paid $150,000, with a balance of $250,000 pending. The same document revealed that the same “number 2” later backed out of the deal.

Wilbross Group had sourced a loan to finance the graft deal. A suitcase filled with $1 Million cash was brought into Lagos office of Jim Bob Brown, Managing Director of Willbross International. A written interest free loan agreement was made between Wilbross and another German Construction Company.

The Media Adviser to former Vice- president Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Shehu Usman told pointblanknews.com that the former vice-president is being blackmailed as he was never involved or named by Mr. Steph as one of the beneficiaries of the bribe money.

 

http://www.pointblanknews.com/os637.html

$6 MILLION WILLBROSS BRIBE: U.S COURT MAY SUBPOENA PDP, OBASEKI, KUPOLOKUN


Top functionaries of the ruling party in Nigeria, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr. Gaius Obaseki and Mr. Funso Kupolokun may be subpoenaed as possible accomplices in a $6 Million (N750 Million).

The Justice Department had announced on Monday that a former executive of Willbross Group, a company based in Panama with administrative headquarters in Houston, Texas had confessed to acting in concert with other top level executives to bribe officials of NNPC and the ruling PDP in other to secure juicy pipeline construction contract with a joint venture controlled by the NNPC. The project is said be worth $388 Million (N40Billion).

The NNPC seems to be sinking deeper into the hole of several litigations concerning bribery and corruption. Another Federal District Court in New Orleans, Louisiana would be ruling in unrelated charges of bribing international arbitrators with $50 Million to secure a favorable decision in a case between it (NNPC) and Gulf-Petro Trading Company Inc. Sena Anthony is said to have facilitated the bribery along with Prince Bola Ajibola, Nigeria's former Ambassador to UK.

The embattled former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori had purchased the operations and assets of Willbross International in Nigeria for $155 Million. The company was facing harassment and kidnap of its workers in the Niger Delta Area.

A 37 year old Executive of Willbross, Jason Edward Steph had confessed to interrogators that he colluded with others including the former Managing Director of Willbross International, Jim Bob Brown to “funnel” $6million to Nigeria as bribery package to officials within the PDP, NNPC and the Nigerian Government to ease chances of securing the juicy contract.

According to Steph while pleading guilty before a U.S District Court in North Texas presided over by Judge Sim Lake, he had agreed with Brown to funnel money to Nigerian officials.

Based on the confessions of the former Willbross Executive, Pointblanknews.com learnt from a Justice Department Source that an official of the NNPC who served as the Group managing Director at the time of the crime, an official of the PDP, a former Governor and another top Government functionary at the Presidency, if need be would be invited to testify.
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“We want to be able to ascertain that U.S citizens are not breaking any laws in respect of overseas investments and trading practices.” Yes, we are pursuing this case under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.”

Steph faces a possible sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Justice Department officials said.

Lake set his sentencing for January 28. A Willbros spokeswoman declined to comment Monday on Steph's plea agreement.

Last week, Willbros agreed to pay more than $32 million to settle federal investigations of its dealings in Nigeria, Bolivia and Ecuador.