Fresh facts have emerged on how the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in collaboration with the federal government officials foiled attempt by an international fraud syndicate led by Messrs. Marco Antonio Ramirez and Mr. Jose Salazar Tinajero and their company Samano Sa De Cv.to defraud Nigeria a colossal N125million.
Sometime in 2015, SAMANO had notified some top federal government officials that 48 million barrels of Nigerian Bonny Light Crude Oil, believed to have been stolen from Nigeria were stored in various ports and terminals in the China.
SAMANO claimed that the crude oil had been stolen and shipped to China before the inception of President Buhari’s administration in 2015, but offered to purchase the alleged stolen crude upon its recovery by the federal government.
No sooner had SAMANO and its agents – Ramirez and Mr. Jose Salazar Tinajero indicated interest in buying the said stolen crude, than SAMANO approached the government again, claiming it only obliged the information to assist the President Buhari-led administration in the fight against corruption.
The federal government and the management of NNPC suspected that SAMANO‘s claim might be false, because given the operations and state of the international crude oil market in 2015, it was impossible to ship 48 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria to China without any record or trace of same.
Besides, as of 2015, Nigeria’s daily crude oil production was below 1.6 million barrels; therefore, 48 million barrels of crude oil would have been the country’s total production for a whole month. It was therefore impossible for one-month crude oil production of the entire country to disappear without any record or trace from the shores of the country.
Again, the NNPC was also aware that as at the material time and considering the fact that China was one of the most regulated economies in the world, the export of crude oil from Nigeria to China was exclusively undertaken by four known companies approved under the control, ownership, and management of the Chinese Government. It would, therefore, have been impossible to transport 48 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria to China without the active involvement of the said companies.
Also, from an economic perspective, it made no sense that anyone would store that volume of crude oil in China for such a considerable period having regard to the attendant significant storage costs.
Besides, the Chinese Government had stated emphatically in response to this allegation at different fora including the United Nations General Assembly that there was NO stolen Nigerian crude oil stored in any port or terminal or storage facility in China.
Despite that there was no evidence by SAMANO and its agents to back up their claims, the federal government, in its avowed determination to fight corruption and recover the country’s looted resources, had set up the Presidential Committee on Recovery of Stolen Nigerian Crude Oil in response to the claims made by several companies including SAMANO over alleged stolen Nigerian crude oil stored in China.
The Presidential Committee had requested that SAMANO and its agents furnish it with evidence in proof of the allegations to enable it investigate and verify the information, but it failed to do so.
Notwithstanding SAMANO’s failure to produce verifiable evidence in support of its allegations, relevant government officials were mandated to pay an in-person visit to China to further investigate SAMANO’s claim.
During the fact-finding trip to China, it was discovered that SAMANO’s claim was completely false as there were no 48 million barrels of stolen Nigerian crude oil or any stolen Nigerian crude oil in any port, terminal or storage facility in China.
It was also discovered that all the documents previously presented by SAMANO in support of its claims were not genuine.
Consequently, the federal government terminated all communications with SAMANO and its agents as it became apparent that the claim was a hoax.
This did not go down well with Messrs. Ramirez and Mr. Jose Salazar Tinajero, acting as agents of SAMANO as they resorted to blackmail and intimidation of key government officials and top officials of NNPC.
They threatened to publicize that the non-existent 48 million barrels crude oil had been recovered, sold and proceeds looted by senior government and NNPC officials when it knew this was absolute falsehood.
They also demanded the sum of $125,000,000:00 from the government officials and threatened to further publicise the false information should government fail to meet their demand.
SAMANO even embarked on a mischievous exercise to embarrass the Federal Government of Nigeria on international media platforms and before several international institutions like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) all in a calculated bid to blackmail the Federal Government of Nigeria and the NNPC into paying for the false information.
The NNPC was constrained to make a formal complaints to the Department of State Security (DSS) and Nigeria Police against the fraudsters continued
In the course of investigation, it was discovered that the allegations of conspiracy, forgery, obtaining money by false pretence, blackmail and extortion were well-founded and that some of the fraudulent activities of one Mr Ramirez and Mr Jose Salazar Tinajero (both agents of SAMANO) constituted a threat to the national security of Nigeria.
Investigation by the police also revealed that “SAMANO was part of a notorious crime syndicate that habitually intimidates, blackmails, and defrauds government officials and other high-profile persons.”
“For instance, it was discovered that Mr Ramirez, SAMANO’s representative, was indicted by the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas as the mastermind of a scheme leading to the loss of several millions of dollars through various mail and wire frauds between 2010 and 2013.
The Police also became aware that Mr Ramirez fled the United States of America and settled in Nigeria where he continued his criminal activities in conjunction with SAMANO and its Managing Director.
It was also revealed in the course of investigation that there is a subsisting warrant issued by the United States Government for the arrest of Mr. Ramirez. Investigations also revealed that Ramirez’s wife had been convicted in the United States for her role in a visa lottery scam he masterminded.
Consequently, the NNPC in 2019, filed the suit No: FCT/HC/BU/CR/134/2019 Marco Antonio Ramirez & 4 Others at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja for criminal conspiracy, forgery, extortion and attempt to obtain money by false pretense against SAMANO and others.
Ramirez and his cohorts are also being prosecuted by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for other unrelated offences at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in Charge No: FCT/HC/CR/147/2016 and the Federal High Court, Lagos in Charge No: ID/2763/2016.
SAMANO claimed that it was entitled to compensation for supplying information on the missing crude oil pursuant to the Federal Government’s Whistle Blower Policy. However, the information (which has proved to be pure falsehood) forming the basis of this claim was furnished in 2015 whilst the Whistle-blower Policy of the Federal Government of Nigeria only commenced in December 2016.
The NNPC has instructed its lawyers, Afe Babalola & Co. to take appropriate legal actions against SAMANO and its officers for the damage done to its reputation and its officials as a result of the false information by SAMANO and its agents.
The corporation also urged the public to disregard the various publications sponsored by SAMANO. “They are at best diversionary and in furtherance of its scheme to fleece Nigeria. SAMANO’s attempt to shift attention from the on-going criminal charges against its Managing Director and agents will not fly”, the NNPC said.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have commended the gallantry of the management of the NNPC, who foiled the attempt by the international fraudsters to willfully defraud Nigeria of such colossal amount.