Dutch Prosecutors Target Shell Over Nigeria Oil Deal
Dutch prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against Royal Dutch Shell over the $1.3 billion acquisition of an Nigerian offshore oilfield, ramping up pressure on the energy firm that already faces bribery charges in Italy over the case.Within hours of Friday's announcement on the Nigerian case, the Dutch prosecution said the oil and gas giant would also be charged in two domestic cases relating to an explosion at a petrochemical facility and emissions.Although the cases are unrelated…
Nigeria Sues Shell, Eni Over Oil Deal
Lawyers for the Nigerian government said they had filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in a commercial court in London on Thursday in relation to a 2011 oilfield deal.The OPL 245 oilfield is also at the heart of an ongoing corruption trial in Milan in which former and current Shell and Eni officials are on the bench."It is alleged that purchase monies purportedly paid to the Federal Republic of Nigeria were in fact immediately paid through to a company controlled by Dan Etete…
JP Morgan Knew Ex-minister Linked to Firm in Nigeria Oilfield Deal
JP Morgan Chase has acknowledged it knew a former Nigerian oil minister convicted of money laundering would benefit when it transferred over $800 million of government funds to a company he controlled, according to a court document seen by Reuters. JP Morgan made the acknowledgement in its legal response to a lawsuit filed by Nigeria over transactions made by the U.S. bank when Royal Dutch Shell and Eni bought offshore oilfield OPL 245 from Malabu Oil and Gas in 2011. The…
Shell, Eni Accused in Alleged Nigeria Corruption
An Italian judge has ordered Royal Dutch Shell and Eni to stand trial over alleged corruption in Nigeria with the CEO of Eni among past and present managers involved, legal sources said on Wednesday. The case involves the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria's OPL-245 offshore oilfield - one of Africa's most valuable oil blocks - for about $1.3 billion. Besides the two companies, 13 people including Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi and former chairman of the Shell Foundation Malcolm Brinded were put on trial, the sources said.
Shell Knew Payments Would Go to Nigeria's Malabu
Royal Dutch Shell has said it knew that some of the payments it made to Nigeria for the rights to an oilfield would go to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company associated with a former Nigerian oil minister and convicted money launderer. Shell spokesman Andy Norman said the group had known the Nigerian government "would compensate Malabu to settle its claim on the block". Shell previously had said only that its payments from the 2011 deal went to the Nigerian government. In an email to Reuters…
Eni, Shell Deny Illicit Payments in Nigeria
Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and Eni reiterated on Monday that neither they nor their personnel had been involved in any wrongdoing in Nigeria, including improper payments to Nigerian officials. The comments follow media reports alleging how hundreds of millions of dollars from the two companies were used for illicit payments. A joint investigation by BuzzFeed News and Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on Sunday claims to show transactions worth $1.3 billion made in 2010-2011 that Shell and Eni paid to acquire an exploration licence for an offshore oil block known as OPL 245.
Nigerian Court Adjourns Shell, ENI Dispute until March 17
A Nigerian court case in which Royal Dutch Shell and Italy's Eni are seeking to have a government seizure of a long-disputed oilfield lifted has been adjourned until March 17, a judge said on Monday. The court in January ordered the temporary seizing of assets and the transfer of operations of the OPL 245 field owned by Shell and Eni, among others, to the federal government on request of the EFCC financial crime agency. The inquiry is investigating whether the $1.3 billion purchase of OPL 245 involved "acts of conspiracy…
Eni Chief Under Investigation for Nigerian Oil Deal
Eni SpA chief Claudio Descalzi has been placed under investigation over alleged corruption relating to a big Nigerian oil deal, the company said on Thursday, just four months after he took the helm at the oil major, Italy's biggest listed company. Milan prosecutors opened a probe earlier this year and have now widened the net to include Descalzi, in a case relating to a $1.09 billion acquisition of Nigeria's OPL-245 offshore oil block in 2011. Eni confirmed Descalzi was being investigated after a report in Italian daily Corriere della Sera said he was being probed over the Nigeria deal.
