It is going to be a tough time for two major multinational oil companies in Nigeria as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has dragged them to court.
Nigeria’s anti-graft agency on Thursday filed corruption charges against oil majors Shell and Eni over a $1.3 billion offshore block deal, AFP reports.
The prosecution is being carried out by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who accused 11 defendants of “official corruption”, according to court documents.
Shell, Eni and Agip, Eni’s Nigerian subsidiary, are alleged to have corruptly given the “aggregate sum of $801 million” to Nigerian businessmen and politicians.
The report further stated that this is the latest probe since the controversial 2011 oil deal that exposed endemic corruption within the sector.
Italian prosecutors are also looking into the purchase of the OPL 245 block prospecting license. OPL 245 is located in deep offshore waters in the Gulf of Guinea estimated to hold at least 9 billion barrels of crude reserves.
The two oil majors involved in the corruption saga have denied any wrongdoing.
“Eni did not do anything wrong,” said the chief executive of Eni Claudio Descalzi to the Financial Times in February.
“At every stage, we have acted in compliance with all applicable law . . . Eni and Shell paid the government of Nigeria, and were not involved with the government decision on how to use such money.”
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