The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the interim forfeiture of a sum of N7,646,700,000 said to have been illegally kept in Sterling Bank Plc.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) linked the offence to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The EFCC who wanted the money forfeited to the Federal government told Justice Chuka Obiozor via an ex parte application that the N7.6 billion was part of a sum of $153,310,000 which Diezani allegedly siphoned from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation sometime in 2014.
The commission also alleged that Alison-Madueke stashed the money in three banks, and the Federal Government had since February last year, through an order granted by another judge, Justice Muslim Hassan also of the Federal High Court, recovered part of the money from the other banks.