Former NNPC Top Shot Paulinus Okoronkwo has lost his California Mansion after $2.1m Addax Bribery Conviction.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that a former senior official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Paulinus Okoronkwo, has forfeited one of his luxury properties in California after being convicted in the United States for accepting a $2.1 million bribe from Addax Petroleum.
Okoronkwo, a Nigerian-American who later practised law in Los Angeles, was in September found guilty of transactional money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice.
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According to U.S. prosecutors, Okoronkwo abused his position as General Manager in NNPC’s upstream division by accepting the illicit $2.1 million payment from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of China’s state-owned Sinopec Group.
The funds, wired in October 2015 to the trust account of his Los Angeles law firm, were disguised as consultancy fees but were actually a bribe to secure favourable drilling rights in Nigeria.
Prosecutors revealed that Addax executives falsified company records to hide the bribe, dismissed internal whistleblowers who questioned the payment, and misled auditors during internal reviews.
Investigations further showed that Okoronkwo used nearly $1 million from the funds as a down payment for a luxury home in Valencia, California, while concealing the income from U.S. tax authorities.
His sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2025, before District Judge John Walter.
Court filings indicate that on October 3, Judge Walter approved the U.S. government’s request to seize Okoronkwo’s property located at 25340 Twin Oaks Place, Valencia, California 91381.
“The Court finds that the government has established the requisite nexus between the forfeitable property and the offences described,” the order stated.
The forfeiture covers the net proceeds from the sale of the mansion, identified as Tract Number 45433, Lot 12, with Assessor’s Parcel Number 2826-143-004.
Under U.S. federal law, specifically Rule 32.2(b)(3) and 21 U.S.C. § 853 the Attorney General is authorised to take immediate possession of the asset.
The U.S. government has also issued a 60-day public notice inviting any third party with a legitimate claim to the property to file a petition before final forfeiture is completed.
