A US court has sentenced Paulinus Okoronkwo, a former general manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to 87 months in prison for receiving a $2.1 million bribe from Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of China’s Sinopec. Okoronkwo was found guilty of transactional money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice. He must pay $923,824 in restitution to the IRS and forfeit $1,039,997, the proceeds from the sale of his Valencia, California home.

The bribe, disguised as consultancy fees, was meant to secure favorable drilling rights in Nigeria. Addax executives falsified records, dismissed staff who raised concerns, and misled auditors. Okoronkwo used nearly $1 million of the bribe for a home down payment and failed to declare the income on his 2015 tax return.