Eni files a complaint for fraud and renews the commercial arm in the face of the tanker fiasco

LONDON / MILAN (Reuters) – Eni has filed a fraud suit against its former oil chief for a shipment of suspected Iraqi crude oil, while the country's biggest oil company feared the delivery would include Iranian crude targeted by US sanctions .

When filing with the prosecutor's office in Milan, Eni accused his former head of commercial operations and operations, Alessandro Des Dorides, of misleading all parties to the transaction and to disguise the role of a small Italian trading company oil tanker, Napag.

Two other high-level employees have been demoted or suspended because of the failed shipment, sources close to the case said.

Eni said he suspended his relationship with Napag in February following a separate investigation by Milan prosecutors over charges of obstructing justice by members of Eni's former legal team.

Eni said that he had fired Des Dorides at the end of May, after he had been in his job for about six months, for a contract in the petrochemical field unrelated to Napag in 2018.

Napag did not respond to a request for comment by e-mail or answered phone calls.

Dorides has not responded to several requests for comments from Reuters via email or via LinkedIn. Reuters could not find a legal representative for him.

Eni also declined to comment. Eni said that he "does not comment on ongoing investigations and internal procedures."

INTERNAL PANIC

The crude arrived on board the tanker White Moon at the end of May to be unloaded at the refinery of Milazzo in Sicily, which partly belongs to Eni. The Italian oil group, which produces oil in Iraq and regularly buys Iraqi crude, was solely responsible for the cargo.

However, Eni said it rejected the delivery because it did not match the Iraqi crude Basra Light it was expecting from its counterpart, the commercial arm of the Nigerian company Oando, based in Dubai.

After sitting off for three weeks, the White Moon returned to the Gulf. The tanker manager did not respond to a request for comment.

Two sources in Eni said that the cargo of a million barrels created by the White Moon had caused panic in the company, fearing that the crude is, at least in part, Iranian.

Handling Iranian oil would have violated the sanctions that the US reimposed or extended last year after giving up a nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers.

Washington's goal is to defeat Iran's exports and force the Islamic Republic to renegotiate the nuclear deal, limit its missile program and change its behavior in the Middle East.

Iran has called on the other parties to the deal to protect themselves from the effects of US sanctions and has worked to circumvent US restrictions by selling more undercover oil.

ENI ACTION

Following the rejection of White Moon's cargo in June, the chairman of the Italian senate commission on industry wrote to Eni's general manager, Claudio Descalzi, to clarify the origin of the cause. an oil cargo labeled as coming from Iraq, announced the chairman of the commission.

The chairman of the commission declined to comment on Reuters on the possible origins of oil.

Eni said he bought the crude from the Nigerian company Oando, which bought the oil at the London branch of Italian Napag.

Oando said he took the cargo back to Eni, but declined to comment further on the source of the cargo, as it was "in full resolution" over the rejected oil. Oando said the terms of the agreement were "normal for the commercial sector".

Italian prosecutors can not legally comment on an investigation unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Trade sources close to the agreement said the supply conditions for the crude should have triggered internal alarms even before its arrival off Sicily. The offer was at a substantial price compared to typical Iraqi transactions, was paid in euros and came from a new company in the region, they said. The physical oil is usually exchanged in dollars.

Eni said the inadequacy of the chemical composition of the crude "coupled with other red warning signals had led to the decision to end the deal".

The oil laden on the White Moon came via two ship-to-ship shipments that make the origin more difficult to track, according to sources directly familiar with the market.

The crude purchased from Oando was loaded onto the White Moon by another ship, the New Prosperity, but that ship itself had been loaded with oil from a third tanker, the Abyss, the sources added.

The Abyss makes regular trips to the Middle East Gulf, transponder turned off several days at a time, according to Refinitiv Eikon. The transponder was shut down between April 24 and May 3, when he transferred the oil to New Prosperity. For safety reasons, ships rarely switch off their tracking system.

In addition to the dismissal of Des Dorides, the chief financial officer of Eni Trading, Mauro Cavagna, was dismissed at the end of June and replaced by the head of compliance, Francesco Metrangolo, announced the company. Cavagna is still at Eni.

Three sources close to the case said that Cavagna's withdrawal was linked to the White Moon and that the head of operations, Francesca Delladio, had also been suspended for the same matter.

Cavagna and Delladio sent Eni requests for comments from Reuters.