| By Peter Whoriskey and Agustin Armendariz When three of Africa's wealthiest people wanted to win favors from the Nigerian oil minister, they didn't pay cash, according to company filings and court papers describing the alleged transactions. Instead, the oil tycoons arranged to influence her with shell companies, each one holding a valuable piece of London real estate, according to the documents. Other shell companies owned by the oilmen provided the minister and her family with a chauffeured car, and they shipped her luxury furnishings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, U.S. prosecutors later alleged. With billions in Nigerian oil revenue at stake, the men engaged in "an international conspiracy," according to U.S. prosecutors, offering millions of dollars' worth of gifts in exchange for "lucrative business opportunities." Read more » | Don't miss the next big story Subscribe and get three months for $1. | | | | |
