*Nigeria rejects India’s extradition request
*AGF Malami has no hand in oil deal – Spokesperson
*NNPC Spokesperson yet to respond on role of Nigeria’s national oil company
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On November 22, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the much-anticipated Kolmani oil field exploration which is lapping on the border of Bauchi and Gombe states amidst pomp and fanfare. The commencement of drilling operations in the area has attracted some investments and business interests.
One such is the Sandesara group which has established some business connections in Nigeria since 2011.
The group belongs to two Indian fugitive brothers Nitin and Chetan Sandesara, who are also owners of the Sterling Global Oil Resources Ltd. They have now found their way into the Gombe oil field exploration activities offering to fund almost USD$15 billion on projects, QUEST TIMES can report.
This is not the first time the brothers received the favour of top government officials in Nigeria. Between 2004 and 2005, they won a small area of 29 sq. km for oil exploration in the oil-rich Niger Delta through a non-competitive bidding process. The brothers have benefited so far from the general support of the Justice and Foreign Affairs Ministries over the years.
But the brothers come with some controversial baggage. According to an Indian publication, Hindustan Times, the two brothers, in 2022, offered bribes to officials of India’s premier investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to drop criminal charges against them in order to facilitate their return to the country from where they have been on the run since 2017.
Recall that in 2016, President Buhari gave two express instructions to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to explore oil in the North. At this time, the Sandesaras had positioned themselves through a strategic partnership with the newly formed Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) owned by the 19 states in the North.
News of this partnership caused a flag to go up in India and authorities there took action, even warning the Nigerian authorities.
The Indian government filed an extradition request for the brothers to the Nigerian government which was rejected in 2019.
An official of India’s anti-money laundering and economic intelligence agency, Directorate of Enforcement, reportedly described the brothers and disclosed that “the Sandesaras had set up more than 300 shell and benami companies … abroad, which were used to divert and mis-utilize loan funds.” Benami is deemed an illegal operation in India where property is improperly transacted and the law punishes any convicted offender with 7 years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The official quoted in the international e-paper, Mint, went further to say that the brothers have been “diverting money to Nigeria in the form of illegal hawala transactions and we are closely looking into this aspect.”
The hawala transactions have been described by several European countries as a system of organized criminal networks or cartels for money laundering from India.
The French and Italian police arrested 19 suspects on the alert of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation or Europol over several illegal hawala transactions. Similarly, in 2019, Algerian authorities seized items equivalent to €1 million in value over allegations of criminal use of Hawala transactions to move cash in different countries.
The Indian authorities had cause to be concerned over allegations of the Sandesaras brothers’ operation as an organized criminal group. Their use of hawala transactions appears to have strengthened the suspicions of the Indian authorities who expressed concerns to the Nigerian government.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), reportedly turned down the Indian government’s request to extradite the brothers in 2019. The Minister’s justification was that the request “appeared to be politically motivated” despite documentary evidence of their status as fugitives in India.
QUEST TIMES reached out to Malami’s office for comment on the rejection of Indian authorities’ extradition request. Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations (Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice) said “Extradition requests are normally rooted in the processes of prosecution of criminal cases. Such are not granted on matters outside legal and judicial.
“Apparently, if an extradition request is rooted in politics not criminality as the case in contention the request was turned down based on Interpol conclusions that the request was adjudged to be politically motivated and not based on criminal indictment,” he noted.
In November 2018, according to Delhi-based Newslaundry, Nigeria’s Minister for state for Foreign Affairs (2015-19), Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, wrote to the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for Nitin Sandesara to be appointed honorary consul to Nigeria despite the brothers’ criminal charges in India. In her letter, she justified this position on the need for the brothers’ effort to “expand the friendship” between both countries in the areas of trade, investment, and mutual assistance.
Earlier, the brothers have managed to make key connections to Albanian political figures, including President Ilir Meta (2013-17) who issued them with the country’s passports and citizenship while being Indian fugitives.
Based on the Nigerian foreign minister’s earlier request, Nitin Sandesara was made an Albanian diplomat in Nigeria. He was later fired in 2019 because his case “may damage the (country’s) image and reputation.” The brothers reportedly got their Albanian citizenship in 2018 due to investments in the country.
The Sandesara brothers have been classified by several governments as an organized criminal group with the International Criminal Police Organization‘s Interpol reporting of their activities. But sleeky and smooth in their ways, the brothers have always found ways to evade prosecution.
India’s Directorate of Enforcement had requested the Nigerian government to attach the assets of one of Sandesara group’s subsidiaries (operating in Nigeria) known as Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Co. (SEEPCO) Limited, in connection with a money laundering case, as the company still seems to be operational as of 2018. Proceeds from SEEPCO’s oil sales are said to be finding their way into Indian markets through some back channels.
BRIBERY, BLACKMAILS, AND CAJOLERY
International media reports say the Sandesara brothers are notorious for their numerous bribery and blackmail attempts on key institutions and public officials into doing their bidding. They are reported to use important connections to local politicians and local non-state actors to strike shady deals and concessions despite their fugitive status.
On the allegations of some back end, high-level compromises reached with some NNPC staff, QUEST TIMES repeatedly reached out to Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division at NNPC, for his reactions. He neither picked up our correspondent’s calls nor responded to messages at the time of filing this report.