Witness narrates how Ex-HoS, allies diverted public funds to private companies in court
Court Grants EFCC’s Application To Arrest ExxonMobil MD Over Alleged ‘$213m Fraud’
By Joseph Ayinde
A federal high court in Abuja has granted an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest Richard Laing, managing director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, over his alleged involvement in the ‘fraudulent creation of change orders worth over $213million.’
The anti-graft agency on Wednesday, via its official Twitter handle, said Laing had rebuffed its invitations on three different occasions.
Consequently, the EFCC approached the court with an application for a bench warrant for his arrest.
Okon Abang, the judge, granted the prayers of the commission on January 29.
The warrant of arrest was granted based on an ongoing investigation of the EFCC on alleged procurement fraud in the Major Integrity Pipelines Project.
It was gathered that the case involves Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, as contracting company, Suffolk Petroleum Services Limited (SPSL) as the main contractor, Saipem Contracting Nigeria, Global Offshore Limited, and Van Ord as sub-contractor to SPSL.
