Aluko, Diezani’s ally, sells US mansion for $21.5m

Kola Aluko, controversial oil magnate and ally of Diezani Alison-Madueke, has sold his $24.5 million US mansion, according to Los Angeles Times.

This is coming on the wings of the investigation by the Economic Financial and Crimes Commission (EFCC) into oil deals under Alison-Madueke’s watch at the ministry of petroleum resources.

According to LA Times, “Aluko, who is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for his alleged role in a multibillion-dollar money-laundering scheme, sold a contemporary-style home in the 700 block of Sarbonne Road in a deal that closed off-market.”

“The house previously sold four years ago for $24.5 million, property records show,” LA Times reported, showing that Aluko (pictured right with Hollywood star Jamie Foxx) lost about $3 million by selling the same at $21.5 million.

According to Forbes, shortly after she became oil minister in 2010, Alison-Madueke awarded Atlantic Energy – an unknown start-up co-founded by Aluko – a very lucrative contract to fund NNPC’s (the state oil company) operational costs in four lucrative oil blocks in which the NNPC owned a stake.

“In return for providing funding to the NNPC, Atlantic Energy was to lift the crude produced from the oil blocks, sell it, and thereafter pay the state-owned oil firm its share of profits,” Forbes said.

However, Atlantic Energy, which was said not to have made any upfront funding, reportedly lifted crude.

A huge chunk of the proceeds from the sale of the crude oil did not make it to NNPC’s coffers and, by extension, the Nigerian treasury, according to Forbes.

Aluko’s mansion was designed by architect Paul McClean and built in 2011. The contemporary-style showplace sits on more than an acre, with a gated entrance, a subterranean garage and a 132-square-foot infinity-edge swimming pool.

The 15,000 square feet of interiors feature walls of glass, 16-foot ceilings, marble walls and Italian fixtures throughout. A wood-paneled library, wine cellar and screening room are among the amenities.