Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, a former senior official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), will appear in a U.S. federal court on December 1, 2025, for sentencing following his conviction on money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice charges.
The 58-year-old has already forfeited a $2.5 million mansion in Los Angeles, California, to the U.S. government as part of the proceedings.
Okoronkwo was convicted in August 2025 by a federal jury in California for his role in a $2.1 million bribery scheme orchestrated by Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of China’s state-owned Sinopec.
The payment, made in 2015 while he was NNPC’s general manager of upstream operations, was disguised as legal consultancy fees and routed through his Los Angeles law firm’s trust account.
Investigators said the bribe was intended to secure favorable financial terms for Addax’s crude oil drilling rights in Nigeria.
Records show Okoronkwo used $983,200 of the illicit funds to make a down payment on a house in Valencia, California, in November 2017.
He failed to report the income on his 2015 federal tax return and later misled investigators, claiming the funds were client monies.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter ordered the forfeiture of the mansion ahead of sentencing.
Okoronkwo faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison for each money laundering count, up to 10 years for obstruction of justice, and up to five years for tax evasion.
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The investigation was led by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, with support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander B. Schwab, Nisha Chandran, and Alexander Su are prosecuting the case.
Okoronkwo, a dual U.S.-Nigerian citizen, formerly held a prominent position at NNPC and operated a law firm in Los Angeles.
His upcoming sentencing highlights the U.S. government’s commitment to holding foreign officials accountable for corruption and illicit financial activities