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A key witness failed to corroborate corruption allegations at the heart of the trial of Eni SpA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc over a Nigerian oil deal, potentially bolstering the companies’ defense in one of the industry’s biggest graft cases.
Testimony from Isaac Eke, a high-ranking retired Nigerian police officer, at a court in Milan offered no evidence to back up claims from former Eni manager Vincenzo Armanna that the proceeds from the 2011 transaction were distributed as cash bribes. The failure of what could have been a key prosecution witness helps Shell and Eni, whose Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi is among the accused.
Both companies, and the current and former executives that are also defendants, have consistently denied any wrongdoing. Shell reiterated that position on Wednesday and had no further comment. Eni wasn’t immediately able to respond to a request for comment.
At the center of the case is the $1.1 billion payment Shell and Eni made to the Nigerian government for Oil Prospecting License 245 in the Gulf of Guinea. Prosecutors allege that most of this money was subsequently redistributed as bribes to company and government officials in the West African country.
Armanna, who is also a defendant in the trial, has alleged that a bodyguard working at then-President Goodluck Jonathan’s villa, said to be Eke, showed him pictures of trolleys full of cash being taken to a private jet. Eke told the court he had never set foot in the residence and didn’t meet Armanna until three years after the alleged events took place.
At one point, the judge interrupted cross-examination to prevent the witness potentially incriminating himself for making false statements to the court. The testimony effectively…
Source: FuelFix
