A Los Angeles-area lawyer, Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo, 58, has been found guilty of serious charges related to a $2.1 million bribery scheme. The jury's verdict in a federal court in Los Angeles concluded that Okoronkwo, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Nigeria, used his position as a Nigerian government official to illegally enrich himself. The Bribe and Its Purpose At the heart of the case was a $2.1 million payment Okoronkwo received from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss company owned by a Chinese state-run oil giant, Sinopec. At the time of the transaction, Okoronkwo was a high-ranking official at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), serving as the general manager of its upstream division. In this role, he was responsible for managing partnerships with foreign oil companies, including Addax. The payment was made in October 2015 and was disguised as a fee for legal services to conceal its true purpose: a bribe. Addax Petroleum made the payment to secure favorable dr...