Shell, Eni get victory in Nigerian oil corruption case

A Milan court, on Wednesday, acquitted Eni, an Italian energy major, and Shell along with a series of past and present managers, including Eni Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, in the oil industry’s biggest corruption scandal.

Reuters reported that the sentence, read out in court by Judge Marco Tremolada, came more than three years after the trial first began and after a total of 74 hearings.

Eni said in a statement that it had throughout maintained its full confidence in the court’s fair and balanced investigation.

It said, “In relation to the Nigeria-OPL 245 trial, Eni welcomes today’s judgment of full acquittal of all charges, since there was no case, by the Court of Milan.

“After almost three years of trial, the judgment by the court has finally established that the company, the CEO Claudio Descalzi and the management involved in the proceedings have all behaved in a lawful and correct manner.

“Today, Eni expresses its gratitude for the trust placed by its stakeholders throughout the course of the trial, particularly in upholding the company’s management and the conduct of its business, and respecting its reputation.”

In 1998, OPL 245 was awarded by a former Petroleum Minister, Dan Etete, to Malabu Oil and Gas, which later sold it to Eni and Shell for $1.3bn.

The deal saw the Nigerian government act as an intermediary between the oil majors and Malabu Oil and Gas, a company allegedly controlled by Etete.