Nigeria announced that it will conduct an investigation regarding an alleged corruption of the the Brass LNG project, asking questions to determine the use of government funding.
Namely, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) LNG project has not move from the the planning stages for more than ten years, with some partners backing out of it.
Because of this, the Nigerian Senate decided to launch an investigation regarding Brass LNG and its banking records. According to the Senate, Brass LNG’s bank account was supposed to be held by the Central Bank of Nigeria, however some records showed that it is currently with Keystone Bank.
Furthermore, the Senate mentioned that in September 2016, the company received a deposit of $648 million in September 2016 and that it currently holds $137 million, with no further details provided regarding this difference, Reuters reported.
After that Nigeria will examine whether the necessary processes was followed and the same with the signatories to the bank account. The results are expected in about four weeks.
The Brass LNG company was created in 2003, with NNPC having 49% of the company and other affiliates, such as Conoco Phillips , ENI and Chevron holding 17%. Chevron and Conoco Phillips are currently not participating in the project.
