ICPC withdraws $2.3 Billion tax case against Sterling Oil

LAGOS, Nigeria — The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has withdrawn its court case against Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Limited (SEEPCO) after settling its investigation into an alleged $2.3 billion tax evasion involving the company.

The withdrawal was made on March 23, 2026, in a motion filed by Osuobeni Akponimisingha, Head of High Profile Prosecution at the ICPC, according to court documents. Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, who presided over the case, struck the matter out at the commission’s request. The withdrawal was reported only now, more than seven months later.

The ICPC’s original allegations were made on June 24, 2025. Akponimisingha said in an affidavit that the company had under-declared its daily oil production to reduce taxes on its production income. He alleged that it had diverted profits from exploration into numerous company bank accounts, some of them held by companies it had registered, to keep revenue from the Federal Government. He put the tax revenue lost between 2012 and 2021 at about $2.3 billion.

Akponimisingha also told the court that the bank accounts involved were linked to multinational operators, and asked the court to freeze the accounts of Sterling Oil and its connected companies for investigation. The judge granted a 120-day freeze the same day and adjourned the case to October 22, 2025, for the commission’s report.

When the case returned to court on March 23, 2026, the ICPC told the judge it had concluded a settlement with the company. The commission then applied to withdraw the suit, and the judge struck it out.

The material reviewed does not disclose the terms of the settlement, including whether any payment was made or how much. The allegations were never tested in court, so they remain unproven. This report does not include a statement from Sterling Oil or the ICPC on the terms of the settlement.

The case is one of several in which prosecutors have withdrawn proceedings or moved to lift restrictions on frozen bank accounts. In October 2025, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered eight banks to lift restrictions on 13 accounts linked to a 2022 police investigation.