The United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) announced on Tuesday that it has charged former minister if petroleum resources and former President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke with bribery offences.

The charges relate to Alison-Madueke’s time as minister from 2010 to 2015, when she is alleged to have accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to oil companies.

The NCA said that 63- years-old Alison Madueke is accused of “conspiring to make corrupt payments to obtain preferential treatment for the award of contracts”. She is also accused of “dishonestly receiving property, namely a payment of US$1 million, which she knew or believed to represent the proceeds of corrupt conduct”.

NCA also alleged that Alison-Madueke benefited from at least £100,000 ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.

The head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, informed in a statement that, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts.

“Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries.

“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation,” Kelly added.

Alison-Madueke has been living in the posh St John’s Wood area of north London since she was first arrested, and had undergone chemotherapy for breast cancer, according to family members.