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MILAN – A Milan court absolved Wednesday of the oil giants Shell and Italian Eni of corruption charges in a $ 1.1 billion bribery case involving control of a lucrative Nigerian oil block.
In addition to the companies, Eni’s current CEO, his predecessor and a former Nigerian oil minister were among the 13 defendants acquitted after a three-year trial involving the 2011 purchase of the OPL 245 offshore oil field.
Non-governmental organizations and activists expressed outrage at the verdict and asked Milan prosecutors to appeal. The court has 90 days to present its reasoning.
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“This verdict should not mark a return to normal business,” said Global Witness senior activist Barnaby Pace in a statement. “It is not a claim for any of the companies, nor for the industry as a whole, which continues to put our planet at risk and to shorten the lives of its inhabitants with its toxic practices.”
Milan prosecutors claimed that $ 520 million of the $ 1.1 billion paid into a custody account for the acquisition was converted into cash and distributed as a bribe, while several hundred million went to a former oil minister.
On Wednesday, a Milan court acquitted the oil giants Shell and Italy’s Eni of corruption charges in a $ 1.1 billion bribery case involving the control of a lucrative Nigerian oil block. Photographer: Jock Fistick / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Both Anglo-Dutch Shell and Eni, which 30% belong to the Italian state, denied any wrongdoing.
Eni welcomed the verdict, saying in a statement that the court “finally established that the company, CEO Claudio Descalzi and the management involved in the lawsuit behaved lawfully and correctly”.
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Along with Descalzi, predecessor Paolo Scaroni and the former Nigerian minister, the Milan court acquitted two former Shell executives and a number of intermediaries and advisers.
Defense lawyers argued that Eni and Shell did not pay a bribe, but to obtain a license for the oil block and that all discussions remained on a technical-economic level.