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EFCC declares ex-minister Timipre Sylva wanted for alleged $14.8m fraud.
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He’s now on Interpol, FBI, and UK security watchlists.
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Court orders his arrest and production before EFCC.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, wanted over allegations of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257.
According to a public notice issued on Monday by EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the alleged funds were provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for investment in Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Senior EFCC officials confirmed that the former minister has been placed on international watchlists, including those of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Interpol, the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police, and Canadian security authorities. The move, according to the officials, is part of efforts to ensure global collaboration in tracking Sylva’s movements.
A top EFCC source told The Punch that the investigation has been ongoing for several years and that Sylva had earlier cooperated with investigators before suddenly halting his visits to the commission.
“The case has been on for a long time. The former minister was visiting our office until he later stopped. Now that we have declared him wanted, he has also been placed on the watchlists of the US FBI, Interpol, and other security agencies,” the source revealed.
Oyewale further disclosed that the EFCC obtained a warrant for Sylva’s arrest on November 6, 2025, from the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
Justice D. I. Dipeolu, who granted the order, directed all security agencies to arrest Sylva and produce him before the EFCC to answer to the alleged criminal offences.
Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa State, served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources between 2019 and 2023.
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