Royal Dutch Shell: How Nigeria’s Ex-Attorney General Bayo Ojo Received $10 Million From Malabu Largesse

Extracts from an article published by Premium Times on 5 October 2021

Christopher Bayo Ojo, who between June 2005 and May 2007 was Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, received $10.026 million from the infamous Malabu OPL 245 share-outs, a payment investigators said was a “bribe” for his earlier controversial decision to reassign the lucrative oil block to Dan Etete, Nigeria’s former petroleum minister. read more

“Two middlemen have already been found guilty for their role in this deal in a separate trial. A criminal trial of Shell and Eni’s Nigerian subsidiaries is ongoing in Nigeria while they also face an investigation in The Netherlands where Shell has said they expect to face criminal charges. Today’s verdict does not mark the final word in this scandal for Shell and Eni.”

Shell and Eni verdict: Not the final word on this scandal

NGOs and activists are today disappointed and outraged as Shell and Eni – two of the worlds biggest polluters – were found not guilty of corruption relating to the purchase of a Nigerian oilfield, in a Milan trial. Global Witness urges the prosecution to consider all options to appeal this verdict and continues to follow ongoing criminal investigations into the case in Nigeria and the Netherlands. read more

All Eyes on Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission After Italian Court Decided OPL 245

March 22, 2021

The acquittal of Eni, Royal Dutch Shell and their officials in the Malabu Oil and Gas deal by an Italian Court last Thursday has thrown up fresh call on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission on the need to have a rethink on its ongoing prosecution here in Nigeria. Davidson Iriekpen writes

After more than three years and a total of 74 hearings, an Italian court sitting in Milan last Thursday acquitted energy companies, Eni and Royal Dutch Shell along with a series of past and present managers, including Eni Chief Executive, Claudio Descalzi in one of the oil industry’s biggest corruption scandals. read more

By John Donovan

In the recent article (below”) about the OPL 245 corruption scandal, published under the translated headline “Eni-Nigeria trial, Prosecutor requests 8 Years sentence for Descalzi,” reference is made to “an axis of spies that runs through this story.”

It mentions the involvement of Shell’s MI6 hires responsible for generating the incriminating emails found in the raid and search of Shell’s HQ that has done so much damage to Shell’s reputation. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Jan 29, 2020, 4:00 PM CST

A key witness for the prosecution back peddled on Wednesday on previous testimony that he had seen evidence that oil majors Eni and Shell were involved in bribery over an oil deal in Nigeria, in the latest twist in the trial against the two oil companies in an Italian court.

Eni and Shell are on trial in Italy for knowing that an alleged payment of US$1.3 billion in bribes was made to the former Nigerian government back in 2011, for which Eni and Royal Dutch Shell secured exclusive rights to develop the now infamous oil block OPL-245 offshore Nigeria. read more

By Amos ABBA On Jan 29, 2020

AT the ongoing corruption trial of oil conglomerates, Shell & Eni in Milan, Italy the court listened to the testimony of Isaac Eke, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police as he spoke about his role in the ongoing probe of the $1.1 billion Malabu oil scandal. 

At the hearing held at the Palace of Justice in Milan, Eke who was invited to the witness stand by defendant Vincenzo Armanna, past Eni manager, who became one of the main accusers of the current Eni Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Claudio Descalzi amongst other managers. read more

Regarded as one of the biggest corporate corruption scandals in history, the Malabu oil scandal involved the transfer of about $1.1bn by oil giants Shell and Eni through the Federal Government to accounts controlled by a former Minister of Petroleum, Mr Dan Etete. Shell and Eni were said to have given the bribes in a bid for OPL 245, one of Nigeria’s richest oil blocks. The oil block’s reserves were estimated to be 9.23 billion barrels of crude oil.

Jesusegun Alagbe and Alexander Okere: Published Dec 21, 2019

Italian prosecutors have been asked to produce a Nigerian ‘super witness’ who is a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Isaac Eke, in the ongoing probe of the $1.1bn Malabu oil scandal.

The Palace of Justice in Milan, Italy, during the week told prosecutors to make the key witness appear before it by January 29, 2020, to testify in the trial.

Turning down recorded testimony of the witness and all forms of examination via video conferencing, the court said unlike before when it allowed Nigerian witnesses testify via video conferencing, the ex-police chief must be physically present to testify at the ultimatum. read more

Although Shell and ENI initially claimed they did not know the money would end up with Mr Etete and his cronies, evidence has shown that claim to be false.

Oladeinde Olawoyin: July 18, 2019

A major witness in the long-running Malabu oil scandal on Wednesday told an Italian court that Eni officials knew that the controversial payment made in the deal would go to Malabu oil company, controlled by Nigeria’s former oil minister, Dan Etete.

Vincenzo Armanna, former Eni manager and defendant in the corruption trial, said in his testimony that it was clear to everyone involved in the deal that Mr Etete would get over $1 billion, adding that there was no doubt the money was going to Malabu. read more

Oil major Shell (RDSa.L), which jointly bought the offshore field with Eni, is also on trial for corruption over the deal.

Emilio Parodi: 17 July 2019

MILAN (Reuters) – Officials from Eni (ENI.MI) sought to convince a witness, a former Eni manager, to withdraw some statements he made during investigations into a Nigerian corruption case involving the Italian oil group, a court heard on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Fabio De Pasquale made the comment in a trial hearing into the case, during a legal debate over a request by Eni lawyers to adjourn proceedings to give more time to consider evidence in a related obstruction-of-justice investigation. read more