Sources close to Italian law enforcement today confirmed that they have requested that Shell, Eni and several Eni senior executives including the current CEO Claudio Descalzi, be sent to trial for alleged international corruption offences over the 2011 purchase of the massive Nigerian OPL 245 oil block. Italian prosecutors also requested that former Nigerian Oil Minister Dan Etete and several other individuals be sent to trial, and are seeking separate charges against four senior Shell executives including the current Shell Foundation Chairman Malcolm Brinded, who at the time of deal was head of Global Exploration and Production.
In 2011, Shell and Eni paid $1.1 billion to Malabu Oil and Gas, a front company secretly owned by a former Nigerian oil minister. Prosecutors have alleged that over US$500m went to “fronts for [former] President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria”. This crooked deal deprived Nigeria’s people of a sum worth 80% of its 2015 healthcare budget. Shell and Eni have always denied that they knew the money would go to Malabu, but documents seen by Global Witness show that the companies constructed the deal knowing that the money would flow ultimately to Etete’s company. Jonathan has denied the allegations, saying in a statement that he has never used fronts to “seek favour or collect any gratification on his behalf.”
“This request demonstrates that major international companies and their senior executives are not above the law. Shell and Eni look now to be finally facing a trial over these matters, and others need to wake up to the new reality where corrupt deals and the actions that lead to them cannot stay hidden behind closed doors. Global Witness has campaigned for decades to carve out transparency in this secretive sector; this case proves that the age of accountability is dawning.” said Simon Taylor of Global Witness.
Global Witness, Re:Common and The Corner House have campaigned and exposed the corruption around the OPL 245 deal for several years.
In January 2017 Nigerian authorities seized the block, pending the prosecution of the oil companies involved. Nigerian law enforcement labelled the oil block “proceeds of crime” and stated that they are seeking charges of “Conspiracy, Bribery, Official Corruption and Money Laundering” against Shell and Eni subsidiaries in Nigeria.
Nick Hildyard of The Corner House said, “It is excellent to see the Nigerian and Italian authorities together seeking justice and tackling the ‘fantastic corruption’ that the Global North promotes and benefits from.“
Antonio Tricarico of Re:Common said, “The Italian Government and other Eni shareholders must ask if Eni’s board has been asleep at the wheel over the company’s governance? Eni’s board should not be reappointed in April this year with an impending trial over serious alleged criminality by the CEO and other senior executives?”
In a press release today Eni’s board of directors commented that “Eni is entirely free of any involvement in the alleged corrupt conduct subject to investigation. The Board of Directors also confirms its total confidence that the company’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, was not involved in any way in the conduct under investigation, and maintains their upmost support for him as CEO.”
A Shell spokesperson said that “this is one we’re clearly watching” and that Shell had not yet been served with any notice of indictment.
/ ENDS
Contacts
Notes to editor:
- Further details of the alleged international
corruption offences are stated in the Notification of completion of preliminary
investigations published at http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2016/12/22/tangenti-eni-nigeria-latto-daccusa-della-procura-50-milioni-consegnati-in-contanti-per-amministratori-e-dirigenti/3277349/
- In 2011, Shell and Eni paid US$1.1billion for
oil block “OPL 245” to Malabu Oil and Gas, a “front” company owned by former Nigerian oil
minister Dan Etete, the payment was made through an arrangement made with
Nigerian officials of the day. Etete had awarded his company the block in 1998
when serving under corrupt former dictator Sani Abacha. Shell and Eni have
always denied that they knew the money they paid would go to Malabu, but
documents seen by Global Witness show that the companies in fact constructed
the deal knowing that the money would flow ultimately to Malabu. A briefing on
the background to the story “Shell and Eni's Misadventures In Nigeria” is available at https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/shell-and-enis-misadventures-nigeria/
- Global Witness published leaked emails
between Eni and Shell officials conspiring to arrange the deal for OPL 245 in
December 2015 at https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/leaked-emails-show-how-shell-and-eni-conspired-hide-payment-former-oil-ministers-company-corrupt-opl-245-deal/
- The EFCC has released a statement confirming
the seizure of the OPL 245 block on the 26th January 2017.https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/news/2287-court-orders-forfeiture-of-malabu-oil-block
- In December 2016 money Laundering charges
were filed by the Nigerian law enforcement against Dan Etete and the former
Nigerian Attorney General and Justice Minister Mohammed Adoke. In a statement
in December 2016, Mohammed Adoke said “I hope to at the appropriate time make myself
available to defend the charge for what whatever its worth,” he also emphasized
that he did not benefit from the deal, which he said saved the government from
a breach of contract suit in which Shell was claiming $2 billion. He called the
charges "orchestrated plans to bring me to public disrepute in order to
satisfy the whims and caprices of some powerful interests on revenge
mission." The full statement from Mohammed Adoke is available at http://thenationonlineng.net/malabu-will-come-defend-adoke/
- The full statement
from Goodluck Jonathan is available at http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/220059-breaking-malabu-oil-deal-jonathan-breaks-silence-bribe-allegation.html
- Eni’s full
statement is available at https://www.eni.com/en_IT/media/2017/02/enis-board-of-directors
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