This archive report was first published on 13 May 2020.
On May 12, 2020, two Chinese nationals were arrested in Nigeria for allegedly attempting to bribe an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to sway a probe of their company.
The men, Meng Wei Kun and Xu Kuoi, are representatives of China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, a civil engineering company registered in Nigeria.
According to the EFCC, the two men offered 100 million naira (approximately $250,000) to an official of the commission, Adullahi Lawal, in an attempt to bribe him and sway the investigation.
The company, China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, was awarded massive contracts worth 50 billion naira (approximately $125 million) by the government of Nigeria's Zamfara state from 2012 to 2019.
The EFCC stated that it was investigating the company in connection with the execution of contracts for the construction of township roads and solar-powered boreholes.
The two men allegedly offered the bribe as part of a 'grand design to trap the corrupt officials,' said the EFCC.
Earlier in April, China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited was debarred by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for 18 months 'for fraudulent practices.'
The AfDB anti-corruption unit found the company guilty of 'fraudulent misrepresentations of its year of incorporation, the value of its reference contracts, and the experience of its key personnel.'
