Eni: calls Italian prosecutors requests 'groundless'
(CercleFinance.com) - The requests made by Italian prosecutors accusing Eni's CEO Claudio Descalzi of paying bribes in Nigeria are "completely groundless," the Italian energy group said on Wednesday.
"In the absence of any evidence or tangible reference to the contents of the trial investigation, the public prosecutor has told a story based on suggestions and deductions," Eni said in a press release.
This statement comes after media reports revealed that Italian prosecutors are seeking an eight-year jail term for CEO Claudio Descalzi, who is accused of transferring funds to a Nigerian account.
Eni said that, along with Shell, it paid a "reasonable price" for the license directly to the Nigerian Government, as contractually agreed and via transparent means.
The oil company said that it neither knew, nor could have been aware of, the possible destination of the money subsequently paid by the Nigerian government to Malabu, a company allegedly owned by the former oil minister of Nigeria.
Copyright (c) 2020 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
"In the absence of any evidence or tangible reference to the contents of the trial investigation, the public prosecutor has told a story based on suggestions and deductions," Eni said in a press release.
This statement comes after media reports revealed that Italian prosecutors are seeking an eight-year jail term for CEO Claudio Descalzi, who is accused of transferring funds to a Nigerian account.
Eni said that, along with Shell, it paid a "reasonable price" for the license directly to the Nigerian Government, as contractually agreed and via transparent means.
The oil company said that it neither knew, nor could have been aware of, the possible destination of the money subsequently paid by the Nigerian government to Malabu, a company allegedly owned by the former oil minister of Nigeria.
Copyright (c) 2020 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.