Crime
Malabu Scandal: Trial of nine Shell, Eni executives starts June 20
Published
6 years agoon
By
Editor![](https://nationaldailyng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Dan-Etete-1.jpg)
The trial of nine current and former executives or contractors from Italy’s Eni and British-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell, including ENI Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi, over a 1.3 billion dollars oil deal in Nigeria, will begin in Milan on June 20.
According to a Reuters review of court filings on Monday, the nine executives, were accused by Italian prosecutors of paying bribes to secure the licence to explore a large offshore oilfield in 2011.
NAN reports that seven years ago, two middlemen launched civil lawsuits to seek payment for helping arrange a 1.3 billion dollars oil deal in Nigeria.
If found guilty, the individuals on trial face possible jail terms for bribery.
All deny wrongdoing, as do Shell and Eni.
The criminal trial will proceed in Milan on June 20 after a short initial hearing on May 14.
Some of the key issues in the trial came to light during the two separate civil suits filed by a Nigerian, Emeka Obi, and a former Russian diplomat, Ednan Agaev, a Reuters review of court filings shows.
Both men said they were owed millions of dollars by a Nigerian company, Malabu Oil and Gas, for arranging meetings with Shell and Eni.
The judge in Obi’s case upheld evidence that Obi arranged meetings between former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete, who was convicted of money laundering in an unrelated case in France in 2007, and representatives of Eni, and that he negotiated on Etete’s behalf with Shell.
The judge held that in addition, documents produced in Agaev’s case showed that when Eni and Shell paid for the licence, they deposited more than one billion dollars into a Nigerian government escrow account in London but most of the money later ended up with Malabu, which was controlled by Etete.
The judges found that, in a conflict of interests, Etete had a stake in Malabu and was also oil minister when the Nigerian government awarded the company the licence to explore the field in 1998, a decision that was reversed in 2001, reinstated in 2006 and later challenged by Shell.
These details helped Italian prosecutors put together their case, industry insiders say.
Etete denies charges of bribery for channelling money from the deal to Nigerian politicians.
He and his lawyers did not respond to requests for comment by phone and email.
Shell said by email that if improper payments are shown to have taken place, they were not made with Shell’s “knowledge, authorisation or on its behalf.”
The company said it believes the judges will find there is “no case” against Shell or its ex-employees.
Eni said by email that it could not comment on the case. It has previously said it concluded the deal with the Nigerian government without the involvement of intermediaries and that it had no commercial agreement with Malabu.
But in her decision on Obi’s civil case in London in July 2013, Lady Justice Elizabeth Gloster upheld Mr Etete’s control of Malabu, court records show.
Basing her decision on testimony and documents, she said Etete had a stake in Malabu when it was awarded OPL 245 in 1998 and had been “the principal beneficial owner” since later that year.
She said Mr Obi had meetings with Shell representatives before the OPL 245 deal, though she did not say how many, and that he frequently met officials from Eni.
On one occasion, Etete, Descalzi, Obi and Agaev sat together in a Milan restaurant at a dinner for the “the main personalities” to meet and assess the seriousness of their intentions, she said.
She said Obi should be awarded at least $100 million for his work as a “dealmaker”, the court records show.
Agaev launched arbitration to seek a $65 million fee from Malabu for his work as a go-between and eventually reached an out-of-court settlement, details of which were not disclosed.
While the arbitration was under way, he asked a court in New York to freeze a Nigerian government account in London that held 74 million dollars, most of it due to be transferred to Malabu.
The court said it had no authority to freeze the money but reviewed documents showing Eni and Shell had deposited just over one billion dollars into the account as payment for OPL 245 in May 2011.
A further 208 million dollars was released from escrow as a “signature bonus” for the government, court records show.
Around 800 million dollars was transferred to Malabu in August 2011 and the rest was frozen pending the civil cases.
Agaev declined to comment about his civil case or the Milan trial.
Obi could not be reached for comment and attorneys who have represented him declined to pass on his contact details.
Eni and Shell said their payments were above board as they went directly to the Nigerian government.
JP Morgan Chase, which ran the escrow account, has denied negligence.
You may like
Nigeria and Protest: A cycle of Discontent and Unproductive Reforms
Kwara customs records N10bn revenue from January to May 2024
UniAbuja gets new Acting Vice Chancellor
Five kidnapped victims rescued in Kogi forest
Trio bag three years imprisonment for illicit drug dealing
Daddy Showkey recounts how he escaped being lynched for stealing
Trending
- Comments and Issues2 days ago
As Ariwoola takes the judiciary to the top of the grease pole
- Business6 days ago
NMDPRA Chief faces backlash over comment on Dangote Refinery
- Business1 week ago
Global cyber outage disrupts flights, Banks, telecoms, Media
- Business1 week ago
KPMG criticizes FG’s 50% windfall tax, foresees legal disputes
- Business5 days ago
Zenith Bank retains position as Nigeria’s Tier-1 capital leader
- Education7 days ago
JAMB reacts to allege age limit by ministry of education
- News6 days ago
Philip Shaibu officially joins APC, dumps PDP
- Comments and Issues5 days ago
Onanuga and the Surprise from Joe Igbokwe