Italian Prosecutors Request Eni CEO, Shell Stand Trial--Sources
February 08 2017 - 1:03PM
Dow Jones News
By Deborah Ball and Manuela Mesco
MILAN -- Italian prosecutors have requested that Royal Dutch
Shell PLC and the chief executive of Italian oil group Eni SpA
stand trial over allegations of corruption tied to a large Nigerian
oil deal, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The prosecutors have requested that Claudio Descalzi, CEO of
Eni, and 10 other people be tried for alleged corruption tied to a
deal Shell and Eni struck in 2011 to gain control of an offshore
oil block in Nigeria.
At the time, the two companies won rights to the block after
paying $1.3 billion. Eni paid the money to the Nigerian government,
but about $1.1 billion was later transferred to a former oil
minister, according to documents from cases in the U.K. and Italy.
Shell had already invested a large amount of money in the oil block
and agreed to share the rights with the Italian group.
In a statement Wednesday, Eni's board said it believes Mr.
Descalzi is innocent and expressed its support for the chief
executive. A spokeswoman for Shell had no immediate comment.
Write to Deborah Ball at deborah.ball@wsj.com and Manuela Mesco
at manuela.mesco@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 08, 2017 12:48 ET (17:48 GMT)
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