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Enron legacy returns in battle over $80 million yacht

Almost two decades after the collapse of Enron Corp., a former unit of the energy-trading giant is sparring with US and Nigerian authorities over the proceeds of the sale of a luxury yacht.

The dispute pivots on the Galactica Star — a 213-foot vessel once worth more than $80 million. The boat features a glass-bottom jacuzzi, a sky lounge bar and marble bathroom fittings.

US authorities seized the Galactica in 2018 after filing a lawsuit to recover assets it said were acquired by Nigerian businessman Kolawole Aluko. Prosecutors alleged in a forfeiture complaint that Aluko bought the yacht with the spoils of bribes paid to Diezani Alison-Madueke — the first female president of OPEC and a former Nigerian oil minister.

To defray the costs of maintaining the Galactica while the case progressed, the boat was auctioned for $37 million in 2019 and then renamed Illusion. In May, after Nigeria dropped its own claim to the funds, a Texas court agreed that the proceeds should be retained by the US government.

Enron Nigeria Power Holding (ENPH) says it’s entitled to part of the takings and is demanding $22 million. The company is trying to collect on an arbitration award issued against the Nigerian government after the state suspended a contract signed with Enron in 1999 to build and operate a power plant.

ENPH says the Nigerian government’s recent repudiation of the country’s claim to the yacht constitutes an attempt to fraudulently transfer assets to prevent its creditors from accessing them. The US Department of Justice said in court filings that Nigeria’s shift was “simply a recognition of the factual and legal basis” of the US’s case.

A spokesman for the DOJ declined to comment, while a spokesman for Nigeria’s Justice Ministry didn’t respond to calls and messages.

The US and Nigeria have so far successfully opposed ENPH’s application, according to filings at the District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Once a subsidiary of Enron, ENPH was bought out of bankruptcy for $750,000 in 2004 by a Cayman Islands-registered entity.

ENPH’s claim to the yacht stems from the Nigerian government’s decision to reject a request by the company’s new owners to revive the power contract that was suspended before Enron’s demise. An arbitration tribunal ruled in 2012 that Nigeria had breached the agreement and awarded ENPH damages of $11.2 million plus interest. US courts later confirmed the award.

Battle Galactica

While ENPH’s current shareholders aren’t publicly disclosed, some are former Enron officials who were involved in negotiating the power plant deal with Nigeria, the company’s lawyer Kenneth Barrett said in an interview. One of the US’s largest corporations, Enron hid billions of dollars in losses and debt which, when revealed in 2001, propelled the company into insolvency and top executives to prison.

“None of the principals of ENPH have ever been implicated in any of the criminal activities or criminal proceedings pertaining to Enron Corp.,” Barrett said.

The legal tussle pitting ENPH against the US and Nigeria over the yacht is an offshoot of a protracted saga centering around Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s oil minister from 2010 to 2015. The country’s anti-graft agency has accused her of corruption and says it’s trying to extradite her from the U.K., where she’s also being investigated by law-enforcement authorities. While a lawyer for Alison-Madueke didn’t respond to questions, she’s previously denied wrongdoing.

‘Lavish Lifestyle’

The DOJ says Aluko and his business partner Olajide Omokore funded “a lavish lifestyle” for Alison-Madueke in exchange for lucrative contracts from Nigeria’s state oil company that generated more than $1.5 billion. The two “laundered their illicit revenues into and through the US,” according to the complaint filed in 2017.

Tokunbo Jaiye-Agoro, Aluko’s lawyer, declined to comment on ENPH’s lawsuit. Jaiye-Agoro added that he can “say very little at this stage” about the contracts his client secured when Diezani-Madueke was minister because they are subject to an ongoing court case in Nigeria.

Omokore wasn’t involved in the purchase of the yacht, isn’t party to the case before the Texas court and can’t comment on it, his lawyer Rafiu Lawal-Rabana said in an e-mailed response to questions. He declined to comment on the DOJ allegations.

The vessel, which the DOJ says Aluko bought for $82 million in 2013, was sold last year to avoid monthly maintenance costs of $170,000 that were eroding the sum that stood to be recovered from the vessel, according to court filings. The overarching forfeiture claim against $144 million of assets the DOJ says were acquired by Aluko is currently on hold pending the resolution of a criminal investigation into related allegations, the filings show.

The Texas court in May granted a joint motion filed by the two nations’ governments to withdraw Nigeria’s longstanding counter-claim to the yacht and to vest ownership of the proceeds from its sale in the US. The states plan to use the proceeds “for the benefit of the Nigerian people,” according to the motion.

ENPH will seek the court’s permission to appeal that decision, Barrett said.

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Us moves to seize 200ft yacht, other luxury properties from kola aluko, others.

Alison-Madueke to Kola Aluko : “ If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever … You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch .” – Intercepted recording of an apparent phone conversation between former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and oil trader, Kola Aluko

Demola Ojo with agency reports

US prosecutors on Friday moved to seize $144m in assets including a 200-foot yacht and a Manhattan condominium one block from Central Park, calling them the fruits of an international bribery scheme that involved the former Nigerian Oil Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The justice department action targeted Nigeria’s oil man, Mr Kola Aluko’s vessel, Galactica Star, which its builder bills as the “world’s largest fast displacement yacht”, along with condominium units in Manhattan and real estate in Southern California located just three miles from the Pacific Ocean.

From 2011 to 2015, two Nigerian oil men, Kolawole Aluko and Olajide Omokore, alledgedly conspired with others to bribe the country’s minister for petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in order to win oil production contracts worth $1.5bn, according to a civil forfeiture complaint. At the time, along with controlling the country’s state-owned oil company, Mrs. Alison-Madueke, also headed the Vienna-based oil cartel, OPEC. Nigeria’s federal high court earlier this year charged her with money laundering and she has previously denied any wrongdoing. After awarding government contracts to shell companies owned by the two men, Mrs. Alison-Madueke — known as “the madam” or “Madam D” — was rewarded with a “lavish lifestyle”, according to the US Department of Justice.

Alison-Madueke has since denied any wrong-doing in her relationship with Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore. A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation that money or property was involved in or represents the proceeds of a crime. These allegations are not proven until a court awards judgment in favour of the US.

“The United States is not a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption,” said acting assistant attorney-general Kenneth Blanco. “If illicit funds are within the reach of the United States, we will seek to forfeit them and to return them to the victims from whom they were stolen.”

Though known as “a small time trader” who had previously earned around $500,000 annually, in less than three years, Mr. Aluko purchased more than $87m of US property and the $82m yacht, according to the complaint, filed in US district court in Houston. According to the complaint, in a conversation with Mr Aluko that prosecutors say Mrs. Alison-Madueke recorded, she criticised him for his lavish spending. “If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever,” she said. “You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch.”

The two businessmen allegedly purchased millions of dollars worth of property in and near London for the oil minister and her family and then furnished the homes with furniture, artwork and other luxury items from Houston-area stores that she fancied. In January 2011, the Nigerian businessmen and unidentified co-conspirators bought a Buckinghamshire home known as “The Falls” for £3.25m. Two months later, as Mr Aluko was meeting with Nigerian oil officials to discuss a contract, he arranged to buy two properties near London’s Regent’s Parks: a £1.7m home at 39 Chester Close and 58 Harley House on the Marylebone Road for £2.8m. The first property, upgraded with an elevator and new stone flooring and countertops, was intended for the use of Ms Alison-Madueke’s mother and her son, according to the complaint. The men that month also purchased a £3.7m flat at 83-86 Prince Albert Road for the oil minister. Ms Alison-Madueke appears to have favoured furniture stores in the Houston area, which she patronised on periodic visits to the US oil industry capital. On a single day in May 2012, Mr Aluko wired $461,500 from a Swiss bank account to one furniture store and spent an additional $262,091 at a second on the oil minister’s behalf, the complaint says.

The case was brought as part of DoJ’s kleptocracy asset recovery initiative. Mr Aluko and Mr Omokore created two shell companies in the British Virgin Islands — Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria and Atlantic Energy Brass Development — to handle their oil contracts. Though the companies, which prosecutors say were “unqualified”, failed to fulfil the terms of their deals, they were allowed to produce and sell more than $1.5bn worth of Nigerian crude oil. The pair then created additional shell companies to launder the proceeds through the US, prosecutors said. Mr Aluko’s last known address was in Porza-Lugano, Switzerland, while Mr Omokore is described as a resident of Lagos. According to the Justice Department, the complaint announced Friday demonstrates the Department’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners around the globe to trace and recover the proceeds of corruption, no matter the source.”

“Business executives who engage in bribery and illegal pay-offs in order to obtain contracts create an uneven marketplace where honest competitor companies are put at a disadvantage,” said Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Andrew W. Vale. “Along with the Department of Justice, international law enforcement partners and other US federal agencies, the FBI is committed to pursuing all those who attempt to advance their businesses through corrupt practices.”

The US government also stated that Aluko, Omokore and others funded a lavish lifestyle for Alison-Madueke. According to the allegations, they purchase millions of dollars in real estate in and around London for Alison-Madueke and her family members, then renovated and furnished these homes with millions of dollars in furniture, artwork and other luxury items purchased at two Houston-area furniture stores.

In return, the US government said Alison-Madueke used her influence to direct a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to award Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) to two shell companies created by Aluko and Omokore: Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd. and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd. (the Atlantic Companies).

Under the SAAs, the Atlantic Companies were required to finance the exploration and production operations of eight on-shore oil and gas blocks. In return for financing these operations, the companies expected to receive a portion of the oil and gas produced.

However, according to the complaint, the Atlantic Companies provided only a fraction of the agreed upon financing or, in some instances, failed entirely to provide it. The companies also failed to meet other obligations under the SAAs, including the payment of $120 million entry fee. Nevertheless, according to the allegations, the companies were permitted to lift and sell more than $1.5 billion worth of Nigerian crude oil.

The government contends the Atlantic Companies then used a series of shell companies and intermediaries to launder a portion of the total proceeds of these arrangements into and through the US.

“Today’s announcement would not have been possible without the remarkable work conducted by a group of dedicated investigators, attorneys and international partners who were committed to leaving no stone unturned in this case targeting international corruption,” said Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Stephen E. Richardson.

“This case demonstrates that the FBI will not tolerate American institutions and property being used to launder proceeds of foreign corruption and today’s filing is an important step towards recovering identified funds. This should serve as a warning to other corrupt foreign officials that the United States is not open for their business.”

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After Selling Yacht For $42m, U.S Moves To Seize Kola Aluko’s $25m LA Mansion

The move to seize Kola Aluko’s mansion comes after US sold his Galactica Star luxury yacht for $42m (₦15b).

Galactica Star used to be popular for charter among celebrities, including Jay Z and Beyonce.

Aluko is an ally of Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria.

He is one of four defendants accused of cheating Nigeria out of almost $1.8b (₦648b) in siphoned crude oil sales.

U.S accused Aluko and Omokore of using laundered money to acquire yacht; 58 exotic cars; houses; expensive watches and several private jets.

The United States Department of Justice money laundering and asset recovery section has initiated proceedings at the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas to seize a $25m mansion in Los Angeles owned by Kola Aluko.

According to a civil forfeiture complaint, Aluko and Olajide Omokore, an ally of Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria; alledgedly conspired with others to bribe Alison-Madueke in order to win oil production contracts worth $1.5bn.

From 2011 to 2015, the duo won major service contracts with the NNPC through their company, Atlantic Energy Oil.

See Also : Assassination Attempt : Damaged Oshiomhole’s Bulletproof SUV After A Trailer Rammed Into His Convoy (Photos)

Africa Intelligence reports that the Department of Justice is tirelessly pursuing its hunt for assets acquired on American soil by the two.

It said that the luxurious property, located at 755 Sarbonne Road in western Los Angeles, was acquired through “specified illegal activity” that justifies its confiscation.

The villa is estimated to be worth nearly $25m. It includes an infinity pool and 1,400 square metres of land on the city’s heights.

Aluko also bought three other mansions in US through shell companies. He has one in Beverly Hills worth $15m and two in Santa Barbara for $33m. These properties are not yet involved in seizure proceedings.

The move to seize Kola Aluko’s mansion comes over a year after the US sold his 65-metre Galactica Star luxury yacht for $42m (₦15b).

Kola Aluko is one of four defendants accused of cheating Nigeria out of almost $1.8b (₦648b) in siphoned crude oil sales.

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The most fascinating details in United States’ 54-page case against Nigeria’s corrupt ex-oil minister

Last week, news of a US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit roped Diezani Alison-Madueke , Nigeria’s former oil minister, in yet another international corruption scandal.

The lawsuit alleges that two Nigerian businessmen, Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, illegally obtained lucrative oil contracts in Nigeria by repeatedly bribing Alison-Madueke. The men then laundered the proceeds of those contracts through the US by purchasing assets worth $144 million. Going through the court file, the case is fascinating in both the scale of the corruption the minutiae of the deal making and insight into how the monies were spent.

With the US seeking the forfeiture of the assets, court documents for the civil lawsuit filed by the US DOJ’s  Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative reveals the extent of the conspiracy, showing a litany of million-dollar kickbacks and a flawed contract bidding process.

Scratch my back…

With Alison-Madueke leveraging her influence as Nigeria’s petroleum minister, she ensured that companies owned by Aluko and Omokore were awarded multiple oil contracts by a subsidiary of Nigeria’s state oil company. The shell companies were registered in the British Virgin Islands, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, and in the United Kingdom.

The documents allege that companies owned by the businessmen were awarded these lucrative contracts despite being “unqualified” to execute them. Indeed, the companies received the contracts despite either “improperly” performing their obligations or not doing so at all. In a statement, DOJ claims that the companies failed to make a $120 million entry fee payment, an obligation for one of the contracts.

The shady deals began in April 2011 when a company owned by the businessmen was awarded four oil mining leases allegedly thanks to Alison-Madueke’s influence. Despite not meeting the contractual obligations, the company was allowed to sell crude oil worth up to $677 million, the documents allege. Later, in December 2012, the businessmen were awarded contracts for four more oil mining leases. Again, despite failing “entirely” to meet their obligations, the company was allocated millions of barrels of oil which it sold for over $800 million. In total, the businessmen sold around $1.5 billion worth of crude oil.

In exchange for the dubious contracts, Alison-Madueke’s kickback of choice were luxury homes across the United Kingdom. Starting from January 2011, three months before the first contract was awarded, Aluko and Omokore began to purchase property for the ex-oil minister. Court documents list four homes in the United Kingdom worth £11.5 million bought by companies owned by the businessmen for Alison-Madueke. In one instance, a £3.75 million London home was purchased for Alison-Madueke only a day after Aluko met with Nigerian officials to discuss the first oil contract.

In addition, court documents show that the businessmen also purchased furniture items from upscale Houston stores on Alison-Madueke’s behalf. The items had been personally selected by Alison-Madueke during earlier visits which lasted for several hours over the course of “two or three days.”

The spoils, and ironies, of corruption

Aluko’s lavish spending in particular was particularly ostentatious and conspicuous as, according to the court documents, in the period during which the dubious contracts were awarded, his purchases were believed to “grossly outstrip his known net worth and legitimate income.” As an employee of an oil firm, Aluko’s annual salary between 2007 and 2011 was estimated to be $500,000, inclusive of bonuses.

Yet, Aluko, who once dated supermodel Naomi Campbell, purchased property across California and New York worth around $87 million and a luxury yacht. He is also believed to own private jets, more than 50 cars and is also a ‘super car’ aficionado. In December 2012, he raced a Ferrari 458 GT2 at Rome’s Vallelunga circuit and finished in third place.

But despite his vast ill-gotten wealth, Aluko is set to lose one of his most prominent property purchases to creditors as his $50 million condo in One57, one of the most expensive apartment towers in midtown Manhattan. His particular condo, the eighth most expensive in New York, has become subject of an auction by his Luxembourg mortgage lenders after he defaulted on a loan. Initially planned for today (July 19), the auction has been stopped as Aluko, who acquired most of his wealth via oil dealings, is said to also owe $83 million to an Ivorian jet fuel supplier.

No honor among thieves?

Despite clearly being co-conspirators, recorded conversations suggest hints of a fractured relationship between Alison-Madueke and her co-conspirators. In one such conversation, Alison-Madueke pushed back against a possible blackmail plot by threatening to “bring everything out” and ensuring everyone in the plot goes to jail. The ex-oil minister recorded their deal-making conversations herself and the US authorities shared transcripts in their suit.

Based on a transcript of the recordings, Alison-Madueke appeared to be wary of Aluko and Omokore’s lavish spending. She asked them “to be a bit more careful” to avoid scrutiny.  In reference to Galactica Star, Aluko’s $82 million 65-meter yacht which hosted   Beyonce’s 32nd birthday party  in 2013, Alison-Madueke said:

“If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever. You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch.”

But some of the conversations show the former oil minister was just as willing to enjoy the finer things as her co-conspirators. In one instance, Alison-Madueke admits to the the  furniture purchases made on her behalf but saying that the value “didn’t come to more than $4 million.”

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A closer overview of kola aluko’s n15bn superyacht galactica star that was auctioned.

The second Heesen largest superyacht, 65-metre Galactica Star, was announced sold on July 25, with Fraser representing the seller and Burgess representing the buyer. The vessel was listed for sale earlier this year asking $ 42,000,000, as a result of a notorious corruption case in Nigeria.

Custom-built by Dutch yard Heesen in 2013, the vessel seconds only to the builder’s 70-metre Galactica Super Nova in terms of LOA. She features exterior styling by Omega Architects, engineering by Van Oossanen & Associates, finished by interiors from the boards of Bannenberg & Rowell.

In April 2019, the vessel was offered for sale in a sealed bid arrangement, proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Republic of Nigeria and approved by U.S. federal court. The sale process roots back to a corruption case against two Nigerian nationals.

Allegedly, the superyacht was originally owned by Nigerian oil magnate Kolawole Aluko, who is one of four defendants accused of cheating Nigeria out of almost $1.8 billion in siphoned crude oil sales, reports The Marine News. The U.S. government also accused Aluko and another oil executive, Olajide Omokore, of laundering money in the United States and using it to acquire the yacht, among other assets.

The US and Nigerian governments received Federal Court approval to sell the arrested superyacht due to high maintenance and dockage fees, estimating the combined cost at around $170,000 per month. Managed by Fraser, the vessel was listed at $42,000,000.

Galactica Star accommodates up to 12 guests overnight in 6 cabins, comprising a master suite, 1 VIP stateroom, and 4 double cabins. She is also capable of carrying up to 13 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Powered by 2 MTU 5,592 HP diesel engines and propelled by twin screw propellers, Galactica Star is capable of a top speed of 27 knots, and comfortably cruises at 24 knots. With her 90,000 fuel tanks she has a maximum range of 4,200 nautical miles at 14 knots. Her water tanks store around 30,000 litres of freshwater.

The yacht used to be popular for charter among celebrities, for instance, once rented by American music industry power couple, Jay Z and Beyonce for a holiday cruise as reported in the media.

These are some of the images of this power crusier

Specifications

Structural Yard : Heesen Type : Motor yacht Guests : 12 Crew : 13 Cabins     : 6 Length     : 65 m / 213′4″ Beam : 11.5 m / 37′9″ Draft : 3.1 m / 10′3″ Year of build : 2013 Classification : Lloyds Displacement : Full displacement

Mechanical Model : 20V4000M93L Engine power : 5592 hp Total power : 11184 hp Maximum speed : 27 knots Cruising speed : 24 knots

Design Gross tonage : 984 Hull : Steel

Superstructure : Aluminium Decking         : Teak Interior designer : Bannenberg & Rowell Exterior designer : Omega Architects Watch the video

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Meet Kola Aluko And His Array Of Expensive Properties

Forty three year-old Lagos born Kola Aluko is a Nigerian energy business magnate with interests in African infrastructure development and aviation.

Aluko's name is well-known as a higher level hustler, 'private-partner oil-baron'. He has even been alleged by some as the money launderer for Nigeria’s former minister of petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke. He was said to have fled the public scene since the arrest of Madueke on October 2.

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Kola Aluko is the founder of Fossil Resources, an oil trading company. He was CEO of Exoro Energy until it’s merger with Seven Energy, a leading independent oil exploration company. Aluko is now Deputy CEO and a large shareholder of Seven Energy and co-CEO of Atlantic Energy. He is also a member of the advisory board of Vistajet, a private jet charter company founded by Thomas Flohr.

READ ALSO : Top 5 Scandals Involving Diezani Alison-Madueke

However, aside from all the Diezani drama, Aluko is known as a man of affluence. With a whooping $100 millions dollars, Aluko was once ranked by Forbes Africa as one of the 40th richest Africans, as well as included in the top ten list of Successful African Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter. The New African Magazine (November 2013 issue) included Aluko in their 100 Most Influential Africans listing and issue.

The young billionaire is said to have bought up properties in Las Vegas and other top spots all for millions of dollars. When talking about Kola Aluko's wealth, which is up to the tune of billions of dollars, it would be very difficult not to mention how he got it all from Nigeria’s oil sector. Aluko enjoys a porch lifestyle, betting on races, racing with expensive cars in Germany and partying.

READ ALSO:  Newspaper Review: Diezani’s Ally And Oil Baron, Kola Aluko, To Be Extradited To UK

He is friends with Hollywood “A- listers” and international supermodel, Naomi Campbell. Out of his numerous expensive assets is his yacht named “Galactica Star”.

In 2013, Kola Aluko Spent a whooping $1.5 Million (240 Million Naira) on champagne alone at Leonardo DiCaprio’s 39th birthday bash. The exclusive, no cameras allowed bash had billionaires like Vladimir Doronin, Ron Burkle, Jho Low and Vivi Nevo in attendance. Kola Aluko also has a foundation named after him. According to him, the foundation was created to inspire, mentor and support future generations of African leaders.

In 2013, the billionaire businessman who loves race cars reportedly bought the Ferrari Pininfarina Sergio speedster said to be worth a whooping 2million pounds – that’s over N500million. Only six of the cars are being built and all six were already bought in advance by ‘special’ customers in which Kola Aluko was one of them.

Source: Legit.ng

Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: [email protected]

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Nigerian fugitive and New York playboy Kola Aluko, who is wanted for his role in a $1.76 billion oil scam , may be hiding in plain sight on his $80 million yacht in Mexico, sources told The Post.

American tourists at a swanky resort in Playa Mujeres spied the 213-foot yacht, which dwarfed the other boats, docked in a local marina. They also noted the vessel’s bold name, Galactica Star. “We were curious to find out more about the yacht, so we looked it up,” one tourist told The Post.

Besides the boat, Aluko also owns a sprawling $50 million penthouse on West 57th Street’s “Billionaire’s Row,” which the feds want to seize.

He once courted Naomi Campbell and partied with Leonardo DiCaprio. He is also known for spending $1.5 million on champagne.

According to a Department of Justice civil suit, Aluko and a pal bribed Nigeria’s former oil minister in return for lucrative contracts. They allegedly used the proceeds to buy $144 million in assets.

Under the DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, the feds have filed a civil forfeiture action to seize the Galactica Star, which Aluko once rented to Jay-Z and Beyoncé for $900,000 a week, according to the Daily Beast.

The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands and flies under the British flag. It comes with its own helipad, outdoor Jacuzzi and plenty of space for dancing and dining. Beyoncé celebrated her 32nd birthday on the yacht in 2013.

A DOJ spokesperson said the department “can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.”

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Diezani Warned Kola Aluko, How Jay Z Rented His $80million ‘Galactica Star’ Yacht

Court documents filed by the US Department of Justice in Houston have revealed that Nigeria’s former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke tried to warn Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, her business partners against lavish spending, including splashing millions of dollars on a yacht.

“If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever. You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch,” she said to Aluko in a recorded conversation.

But her warning was not heeded as Aluko went on to buy Galactica Star, a luxury yacht, for $80million.

The yacht, a stupendous luxury on water, was once rented by Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce for close to a million dollars during a holiday last year. It also once hosted Beyonce’s 32nd birthday in 2013.

Both Aluko and Omokore are alleged to have paid bribes between 2011 and 2015 to Diezani who ensured that shell companies owned by the businessmen received billion-dollar contracts to sell Nigeria’s crude oil.

The oil swap contracts were a controversial barter arrangement which saw Nigeria use middlemen to sell crude oil in exchange for refined products. With local refineries under-performing, oil swap deals were used to shore up local demand for petroleum products.

Between 2010 and 2014, under Diezani’s watch, Nigeria was estimated to have channeled over 352 million barrels of oil worth a total of $35 billion into oil swap deals.

But with the contracts mostly opaque, Nigeria reportedly lost more than $900 million in crude oil swap deals between 2009 and 2012.

The deals came under severe scrutiny with former Central Bank Governor now Emir Muhammadu Sanusi describing them “not properly structured, monitored and audited.”

President Buhari cancelled the oil swap arrangement in November 2015, seven months after taking office.

The US Justice Department (DOJ) lawsuit has provided more insight into the scale of theft of Nigeria’s oil riches under Diezani Alison-Madueke’s watch.

The civil lawsuit, brought by DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, is seeking to recover $144 million in assets, including a $50 million luxury condo apartment in New York and the $80 million yacht.

Prosecutors say both assets were proceeds from bribes paid by two Nigerian businessmen for lucrative Nigerian oil contracts. The lawsuit seeks the forfeiture of both assets.

Prosecutors claim that the businessmen, Kolawole Aluko and Olajide Omokore, laundered money through the US by purchasing lavish assets.

The $50 million New York condo is at One57, located opposite Carnegie Hall in midtown Manhattan. The building currently holds the record for the most-expensive residential sale in New York following a $100.5 million apartment purchase in 2014.

Aluko’s $50 million condo is the 8th most expensive in the building, but following a loan default, his mortgage lenders are set to auction the apartment on July 19.

Aluko is also said to have purchased Galactica Star, a $80 million 65-meter yacht which hosted Beyonce’s 32nd birthday bash in 2013.

Aluko’s yacht and penthouse are not the only items under scrutiny by the DOJ.

The government also alleges that Aluko, Omokore and others funded a lavish lifestyle for Alison-Madueke.

According to the allegations, they conspired to purchase millions of dollars in real estate in and around London for Alison-Madueke and her family members, then renovated and furnished these homes with millions of dollars in furniture, artwork and other luxury items purchased at two Houston-area furniture stores at Alison-Madueke’s direction.

According to Financial Times, the two are accused of buying a total of four residential properties in and around London worth 11.45 million, and furnishing them with furniture, artwork and other luxury items.

“In one day in May 2012, Mr. Aluko was said to have wired $461,500 and $262,091 to two furniture stores in Houston from a Swiss bank account, on behalf of Mrs. Alison-Madueke, the civic complaint filed in the court claimed.

In return, the government alleges Alison-Madueke used her influence to direct a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to award Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) to two shell companies created by Aluko and Omokore: Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd. and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd. (the Atlantic Companies).

Under the SAAs, the Atlantic Companies were required to finance the exploration and production operations of eight on-shore oil and gas blocks. In return for financing these operations, the companies expected to receive a portion of the oil and gas produced.

However, according to the complaint, the Atlantic Companies provided only a fraction of the agreed upon financing or, in some instances, failed entirely to provide it.

The companies also failed to meet other obligations under the SAAs, including the payment of $120 million entry fee.

Nevertheless, according to the allegations, the companies were permitted to lift and sell more than $1.5 billion worth of Nigerian crude oil.

The government contends the Atlantic Companies then used a series of shell companies and intermediaries to launder a portion of the total proceeds of these arrangements into and through the U.S.

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FG, US Sell $42m Kola Aluko’s Luxury Yacht

The Federal Government of Nigeria and the United States Government have sold off a 65-metre Galactica Star super yacht worth $42m (N15.1bn) belonging to oil magnate Kola Aluko, who was accused of cheating Nigeria out of almost $1.8bn (N648bn) in siphoned crude oil sales.

Although the yacht was priced at $42m, it could not be confirmed the exact amount that the vessel was sold. Aluko, who is an ally of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been on the radar of anti-graft agencies for the last four years.

According to Yacht Harbour, the yacht, which was custom-built by Dutch yard Heesen in 2013, is the second largest ever built by Heesen

The vessel, which was sold on July 25, 2019, features exterior styling by Omega Architects, engineering by Van Oossanen & Associates, finished by interiors from the boards of Bannenberg & Rowell.

The report reads in part, “In April 2019, the vessel was offered for sale in a sealed bid arrangement proposed by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Republic of Nigeria and approved by US federal court. The sale process roots back to corruption case against two Nigerian nationals.”

The US government had accused Aluko and another oil businessman, Jide Omokore, of laundering money in the US and using it to acquire the yacht, among other assets.

The report adds, “The US and Nigerian governments received Federal Court approval to sell the arrested super yacht due to high maintenance and dockage fees, estimating the combined cost at around $170,000 per month. Managed by Fraser, the vessel was listed at $42m.”

Galactica Star accommodates up to 12 guests overnight in six cabins, comprising a master suite, one VIP stateroom, and four double cabins. It is also capable of carrying up to 13 crew members on board to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

The yacht used to be popular for charter among celebrities. It was once rented by American music industry power couple, Jay Z and Beyonce for a holiday cruise.

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According to a Department of Justice civil suit, Aluko and a pal bribed Nigeria’s former oil minister in return for lucrative contracts. They allegedly used the proceeds to buy $144 million in assets.

Under the DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, the feds have filed a civil forfeiture action to seize the Galactica Star, which Aluko once rented to Jay-Z and Beyoncé for $900,000 a week, according to the Daily Beast.

The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands and flies under the British flag. It comes with its own helipad, outdoor Jacuzzi and plenty of space for dancing and dining. Beyoncé celebrated her 32nd birthday on the yacht in 2013.

A DOJ spokesperson said the department “can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.”

Earlier in the year, Naija247news reported that Mr Aluko who has courted Naomi Campbell and celebrated a birthday with Leonardo DiCaprio was targeted in a federal lawsuit aiming to seize his $80 million yacht and his $50.9 million One57 penthouse.

The suit claims the yacht, which Aluko once rented to Jay-Z and Beyoncé, and the full-floor penthouse apartment on Manhattan’s Billionaire’s Row were bought in a money-laundering scheme by frauds who bribed Nigeria’s oil minister.

But the feds will have to get in line.

The 6,240-square-foot condo on the 79th floor of 157 W. 57th St. is in foreclosure. Aluko hasn’t paid the mortgage, and the bank that lent him $35.3 million to buy the pad is forcing a sale, the city’s biggest foreclosure ever.

The four-bedroom, four-bath condo also has liens on it of more than $20,000, and owes $61,000 in taxes to the city as of July 1. The apartment is due to go to auction Wednesday.

Nigerian authorities in February tried to freeze Aluko’s assets, including the apartment and the yacht, as part of the money-laundering probe.

The 48-year-old energy tycoon, whose full name is Kolawole Akanni Aluko, is accused of financing his high-flying lifestyle with money generated from a $1.76 billion scheme to defraud the Nigerian government of oil sale profits.

The scam allegedly involved millions of dollars in bribes to former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who oversaw the state-owned oil company.

The federal lawsuit — a civil forfeiture action filed in Houston — claims that Aluko and another Nigerian oilman named Olajide Omokore conspired with others to pay bribes to Alison-Madueke.

In return, the minister steered contracts from a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corp to shell companies owned by Aluko and Omokore.

Despite being unqualified and in some instances performing no services at all, the companies received more than $1.5 billion through the sale of crude oil, the lawsuit said.

The Justice Department’s suit said Aluko and Omokore laundered their illicit revenue by buying $144 million in assets, including the One57 condo and the yacht.

Alison-Madueke was charged with money laundering in Nigeria, the country’s financial crimes agency said in April. She has denied wrongdoing. Aluko also previously denied the accusations.

Aluko was last seen in public offshore of the ill-fated Fyre Festival in the Bahamas in April. Since then, he’s been on the lam, and may be hiding out on the 213-foot yacht.

The boat, registered in the Cayman Islands, was last tracked in the Caribbean in early May. It’s now listed as “out of range,” by a worldwide ship locator.

The Luxembourg-based Banque Havilland, which issued the mortgage on the One57 condo, seeks to collect what it’s owed plus interest, court papers say. It is unclear how the feds and the bank might divvy up the auction proceeds.

With Post Wire Services

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