On Monday, a London court granted bail to a former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is facing bribery accusations brought by the UK government.
According to Reuters, District Judge Michael Snow granted her bail with restrictions and conditions that included a curfew that required her to be indoors between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The judge also ordered her to wear an electronic tag at all times and imposed a 70,000-pound bail that had to be paid before she could leave the courthouse on Monday.
Reuters stated that the former minister spoke merely to provide her name, date of birth, and address during her Monday appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court.
The charges against her were read aloud in court, but she was not required to enter a formal plea. According to the news agency, her lawyer, Mark Bowen, informed the court that she would be pleading not guilty.
Her next court appearance is planned for October 30 at Southwark Crown Court, which handles serious criminal charges.
Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015, was charged with bribery in August after a National Crime Agency investigation.
As Nigeria's petroleum minister, she allegedly accepted bribes in the form of cash, luxury goods, private jet trips, and the use of high-end houses in Britain in exchange for awarding oil contracts.
Andy Young, the prosecutor, accused her of collecting a variety of benefits in cash and in kind from those who wanted to win or continue to receive the award of oil contracts worth billions of dollars.
The prosecutor also affirmed that the benefits included a cash transfer of 100,000 pounds ($121,620), payment of private school fees for her son, and use and refurbishing of multiple luxurious houses in London and the English countryside.
They also included the use of a Range Rover car, payment of bills for chauffeur-driven cars, furnishings, and purchases from Harrods and Vincenzo Caffarella, both of which sell Italian decorative arts and antiquities.
Alison-Madueke, 63, was a significant figure in the Nigerian government between 2010 and 2015. She also served as president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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