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“The fact does not exist“It is the formula used by the Milan judges to acquit all defendants in the process for the alleged international corruption linked to the acquisition by Eni me Shell of the exploration rights of the oil block Opl 245 in Nigeria. The main defendant was Claudio Descalzi, managing director of Eni, in his opinion together with his predecessor and current AC Milan president, Paolo scaroni. The sentence reaches 5 years from the entry of the trial ordered by the preliminary hearing judge and just under three years from the start of the trial. In total, the defendants were 15 years old and all were paid.
Absolution – The sentence was pronounced by the seventh criminal section composed of judges Tremolada Frame, Mauro Gallina, Alberto Carboni after six hours in the council room. The reasons will be presented in 90 days. In particular, the magistrates acquitted CEO Eni Descalzi, then dg Exploration & Production, former number one Scaroni, former operations manager of the San Donato group in sub-Saharan Africa. Roberto Casula, the former manager of the Italian company in the African country is a great accuser ” Vincenzo Armanna, former manager of Nae, a subsidiary of Eni in Nigeria, Ciro Antonio Pagano, the former Minister of Petroleum of Nigeria Dan Etete. And then again Luigi bisignani, the russian Ednan agaev me Gianfranco Falcioni, the latter businessman and former vice consul in Nigeria, former president of the Shell Foundation Malcom Brinded and the former executives of the Dutch company Peter robinson, Guy Jonathan Colgate me John coplestone. The two companies, imputed by the law of administrative responsibility of the entities, are also acquitted. With the acquittals, of course, no compensation for the Nigerian government, which was a civil party. Already in the trial of the case Saipem-Algeria, in which the accusation was always international corruption, Eni, Scaroni himself, along with another former manager of the company, have already been definitively acquitted. Definitive acquittal that had also come for Saipem and its directors. In the case of Nigeria, however, the alleged mediators are subject to an abbreviated procedure Obi emeka me Gianluca Di Nardo they were sentenced to 4 years in prison.
The process – The heart of the debate is the hypothetical bribery of 1,092 trillion dollars that according to the accusation had been paid by Eni me Shell awarded in 2011 the concession by the Nigerian government of exploration rights in the Offshore oilfield opl24. One hypothesis is that of the prosecutor Sergio Spadaro and the deputy Fabio De Pasquale which the defendants and the companies rejected as “inconsistent.” The prosecution had requested 8 years in prison for Scaroni and Descalzi and 10 years for Etete. For Eni and Shell, indicted under the law of responsibility of the entities, the Milan prosecutor had requested a fine of 900 thousand euros for each and confiscated jointly with all the defendants 1,092 million dollars, equal to the of the bribery assumed by the Milanese investigators. Lawyers for the companies have always defended themselves by arguing that the contract was signed with the Nigerian government and that the money had been paid in a London bank account on behalf of the Nigerian executive. All the defenses have always declared the innocence of their clients, asking for their acquittal.
The reactions – “Finally to Claudio Descalzi his professional reputation has been restored and his role as a large company has been restored to Eni ”, says the lawyer. Paola Severino, defender of the CEO of the oil company, who is the first to comment. “We are very happy. The centrality of the trial in this case was reconfirmed. The thesis of the Public Ministry was verified in a trial that lasted three years and was evidently considered unfounded, which we have always believed,” he said. Enrico of CastiglioneScaroni’s lawyer, who specifies that the manager has “been on trial for various events for 12 years and has always been acquitted at all levels of trial and always with full formula. We hope it is about this barbarism “. The six-legged dog company has issued a statement to express “its own satisfaction for the acquittal with complete formula. The Court’s ruling finally established, after almost three years of debate, that the company, the CEO and the management involved in the process have maintained an absolutely lawful and correct conduct ”. A statement from Shell also arrived, signed by the CEO Ben van beurden: “We have always maintained that the 2011 agreement was legitimate, aimed at resolving a ten-year legal dispute and restarting the development of the Opl245 block. At the same time, it was a difficult experience for us. Shell is a company that operates with integrity and we work hard every day to ensure that our actions not only follow the letter and spirit of the law, but also meet the company’s broader expectations of us. “
Renzi and the League rejoice – No comments from the prosecutor while politicians are also cheering. “The acquittal of Descalzi and Scaroni in the Eni-Nigeria affair because the fact does not exist shows that the the truth is stronger than justicialism. Proud to have always defended the great Eni family from the violent attacks of some parties and some editorial headlines, ”writes the living leader of Italy on twitter. Matteo renzi. The former prime minister’s position is shared by League. From sources at the Carroccio there is great satisfaction at the acquittal of Descalzi and Scaroni. Without prejudice to the good name of a large Italian company and thousands of workers, they say – without official press releases – from via Bellerio.
The stages of history – At the center of the process, the license bought by the six-legged dog and the Dutch giant Shell to exploit the oil block Opl-245, in a stretch of sea in the Gulf of guinea about 150 kilometers from the mainland. A very rich field, paid for “only” 1.3 billion dollars. Amount withheld Too short by the Milanese investigators, given the value of the area, which led them to suspect that the two companies had corrupt local politicians. Eni and Shell, according to the indictment, would have paid a maximum bribe to obtain that license. billion 92 million dollars. Sum that, after a series of bank transfers, going through the Nigerian company Malabu Oil and Gas – would have ended up in the pockets of the owner Dan Etete, already Minister of Petroleum, and from there to other Nigerian and Italian politicians and officials. The story began in 1998, when the military government of Sani abacha -in power since 1993- had granted the concession of the Opl-245 oil field to Malabu, of which the then minister Etete and one of Abacha’s sons were partners. With the death of Abacha and the transition to a Democratic government, the license granted to Malabu was also questioned. In 2002 it was won by Shell through Tender, with a $ 210 million bonus offer paid to start exploring. Immediate appeals filed by former Minister Etete, who in 2006 obtained the license to return to Malabu. Shell has launched an international arbitration and in 2010 Eni also entered the scene by signing an agreement with Nigeria to obtain the 40% of the license, leaving the remaining 60% in Malabu. The negotiation, however, suffered a new setback due to another change of government: the new Minister of Petroleum of Nigeria, Diezani madueke, has decided to grant the full license to Malabu without regard to the agreement with Eni. An unexpected turning point, which led Eni and Shell to try the path of joint negotiations, this time with the then Minister of Justice. Mohammed Adoke Bello. The agreement was reached in April 2011: the two companies agreed to pay 1.3 billion dollars to Nigeria – Eni 1.1 billion plus the signing bonus already paid by Shell – for the license in the Opl-245 oil field.
The investigations – Is it all over then? Not at all. In a London court, the Nigerian lawyer Emeka obi He demanded the payment of 215 million dollars – he will get about 110 million dollars – for his role as an intermediary. Enough for the English judges to decide to block a Escrow Account The Nigerian government was opened to Jp Morgan in London for which Eni had paid $ 1 billion and $ 100 million. From that account, meanwhile, bank transfers by $ 801 million, which after a long tour between banks in Lebanon and Switzerland, ended up in the Malabu de Etete. In 2013, three NGOs on the front lines against corruption caught on to the story: Global whiteness, The house of the corner and italian Re: Common – who reported everything to the Milan prosecutor’s office. In 2013 the deputy prosecutor Fabio De Pasquale opened a file for international corruption and in 2017 the trial began. The last turn came a few weeks ago, with the reopening of the trial, at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, which acquired two emails already attached to a sentence. of the High Court of London in a civil lawsuit between Nigeria and JP Morgan. One in particular, dated June 2011, for the indictment would prove the existence of the corruption agreement between Eni and Shell leaders and Nigerian politicians and personalities. Lawyers for Eni and Shell have repeatedly stressed that the two oil giants did not know that a sum of money was destined for Etete and even less that the former oil minister would distribute it among Nigerian politicians and prominent personalities. The judges agreed with him.
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