ADVERTISEMENT
  • The Membership Club
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
MALABU: Shell-and-Eni

Shell and Eni photo used to illustrate the story. [Photo credit: THISDAYLIVE]

MALABU SCANDAL: Shell, Eni officials’ trial continues as anti-corruption group head appears before court

byOladeinde Olawoyin
October 19, 2018
3 min read

The trial of officials of oil giants Eni and Shell over the controversial Malabu scandal will resume Wednesday at the Milan Palace of Justice in Italy, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

The Milan court’s decision came after Simon Taylor, a founding director of anti-corruption group, Global Witness, appeared before it as witness on Wednesday.

Mr Taylor’s Global Witness, together with PREMIUM TIMES and its London partner, Finance Uncovered, have for years done extensive investigations into the long-running controversial oil deal.

The Malabu deal, struck in 2011 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, saw the Nigerian government as a negotiator in the sale of OPL 245 oil block in offshore Nigerian waters.

Two international oil and gas giants, Royal Dutch Shell and Italian Agip-Eni, paid out about $1.1 billion to Dan Etete, a former Nigerian petroleum minister who had previously been convicted of money laundering in France. The payout would later become a subject of cross-border investigation spanning over six countries.

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi and four ex-Shell managers, including former Shell Foundation Chairman, Malcolm Brinded, are on trial in one of the largest cases in the history of the oil and gas industry. All the accused have denied wrongdoing.

Two men named in the case – Emeka Obi, a Nigerian consultant in England, and Gianluca Di Nardo, an Italian – stood as middlemen in connecting parties and ensured the transfer of the funds through international bank accounts in the oil deal, prosecutors alleged. They were convicted last month in Italy.

At the Milan court on Wednesday, Mr Taylor appeared to explain how his organisation’s investigations over the last 25 years have shown that corruption is the glue that binds the exploitation of natural resources to conflict, environmental abuses and human rights abuses.

He also explained how he first heard about Malabu and OPL 245 in 2002 when Africa Energy Intelligence reported on their connection to Dan Etete. At the time, he said, there was an interest in looking into case studies of possible corrupt oil deals.

RelatedNews

Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife marries teacher at her kids’ school

Nigeria distributes COVID-19 vaccines to states

Nigeria’s first-ever military movie ‘Eagle Wings’ premieres in Lagos

MAN, LCCI, experts speak on CBN’s Naira for Dollar policy

According to him, it was discovered there was a very large sum of money being paid for a Nigerian state asset that didn’t go to the government so some questions had to be asked.

Mr Taylor also narrated how Global Witness started asking Shell questions in 2008, concerned whether Shell understood that dealing with Mr Etete would be problematic but the company’s answers to questions in conversations and letters asking about OPL 245 were very general and didn’t answer the specifics.

In 2012, he said, Global Witness emailed Eni after seeing court documents where Ednan Agaev, an intermediary, sued in New York for a payment he wanted from Malabu out of the OPL 245 deal. He said Global Witness would later attend the Eni shareholders meeting to ask questions about the deal, specifically whether they knew Mr Etete had an interest in Malabu.

Dangote adbanner 728x90_2 (1)

After one of Eni shareholders meetings, he said, Eni offered to meet Global Witness and partners but later walked out after their General Counsel was asked to explain some concerns.

But after seeing documents from the Nigerian House of Representatives investigation into the case, he said, a journalist visited addresses of the companies that received the OPL 245 money and discovered they didn’t exist or people there hadn’t heard of the companies.

Mr Taylor also explained how Global Witness investigated the beneficial ownership of Malabu where it was suspected Mr Etete had an ownership interest hidden under the fake name of ‘Kweku Amafegha’, adding that there were letters from Department for Petroleum Resources managers saying that the OPL 245 deal was not in the public interest.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that no cross examination questions were asked by the defence and after few technicalities, the Wednesday proceedings ended. Court will resume next Wednesday 24th, this newspaper gathered.

Since 2012 when it first denied all allegations to PREMIUM TIMES, Shell had insisted that it only paid the Nigerian government for the OPL 245 oil block and did not know Mr Etete was the recipient or that he was an ex-convict.

But for the first time in 2017, Shell told the New York Times it had dealt with Mr Etete who awarded the OPL 245 oil block to his own secretly owned company, Malabu, while serving as petroleum minister from 1995-1998. But the oil company denied wrongdoing.

ADVERTISEMENT

Several Nigerian government officials are believed to have received several million dollars in bribes for the enabling roles they played. Mr Jonathan, under whose watch the deal was struck, has also denied wrongdoing. The former president is not on trial over the long-running case.

Last week, PREMIUM TIMES reported that in a leaked internal memo seen by Reuters, Shell denied any connection between its officials and Messrs Obi and Di Nardo, the two convicted men.

“I would like to be clear that neither individual worked on behalf of Shell and Shell was not a party to their fast-track trial,” said Shell’s Legal Director, Donny Ching. The oil giant also said it expects the trial of its officials to drag for months.

  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Telegram
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket

Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate


TEXT AD: To advertise here . Call Willie +2347088095401...



JOIN THE CONVERSATION

  • Disqus (0)
premiumtimes



PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

PHOTOS NEWS: Glamour as Ooni gets new wife

Next Post

Nine ‘infractions’ why Usman Yusuf was suspended as NHIS Executive Secretary (FULL DETAILS)

Oladeinde Olawoyin

Oladeinde Olawoyin

Oladeinde Olawoyin reports Business & Economy, Development and Lagos Metro at PREMIUM TIMES. A First Class graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, he was nominated in the journalism category of The Future Awards Africa in 2017. Aside maintaining a column titled ‘SATURDAY SATIRE’, he also writes art and culture pieces on weekends. Twitter: @Ola_deinde

More News

Naira and Dollars

Naira falls as CBN introduces forex promo

March 8, 2021
Nigerian Stock Exchange

Nigerian stocks make shaky recovery after one week in red

March 8, 2021
Central bank of Nigeria (CBN)

MAN, LCCI, experts speak on CBN’s Naira for Dollar policy

March 8, 2021
Senate wants lower Naira notes changed to coins

Bureau De Change operators want more action to support Naira

March 8, 2021
MTN Nigeria office

MTN Group appoints another Nigerian to top position

March 8, 2021
African Development Bank (AfDB)

AfDB approves $1.3 million research grant to aid financial inclusion in Nigeria, two others

March 8, 2021
Next Post
Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf [Photo: Concise News]

Nine 'infractions' why Usman Yusuf was suspended as NHIS Executive Secretary (FULL DETAILS)

Senator Akpabio addressing reporters at the Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo

Akwa Ibom: Court strikes out suits seeking to stop speaker from declaring members’ seat vacant

Discussion about this post

Search

#EndSARS: Latest Updates




Polaris Bank


JAIZ Ad


Access Bank Ad


NITDA Ad





Glo Ad

Subscribe to News via Email

Enter your email address and receive notifications of news by email.

Join 1,630,578 other subscribers.

Advertisement






netherland biz school Advert



Zenith Advert

ADVERTISEMENT

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps in Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • Opinion
  • PT Hausa
  • The Membership Club
  • Dubawa
    • Dubawa NG
  • About Us
    • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Our website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.