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