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LONDON – Royal Dutch Shell, the subject of a lawsuit in Italy for alleged bribery following an oil deal in Nigeria worth $ 1.3 billion, should now be prosecuted for the same problem in his home country, the Netherlands.
Shell said Friday that the Dutch prosecutor's office had warned that he was preparing to sue the oil giant "for criminal charges directly or indirectly related" to a Nigerian oil deal signed in 2011.
A spokeswoman for the Dutch prosecutor's office, Valentine Hoen, said that based on the investigation conducted so far, "we have concluded that there are offenses subject to prosecution" she added. .
A lawsuit in the Netherlands would mark a major expansion of the corruption file and could damage Shell's reputation as a major player in the global oil industry. The legal difficulties could also complicate Shell's operations in Nigeria, where for years it has been a major oil and gas producer.
Shell and Eni, the Italian energy company, are already facing a lawsuit in Milan for corruption in connection with a dispute over a potentially lucrative block of exploration areas in the country. 39 Atlantic Ocean off Nigeria – the same agreement has attracted the attention of the Netherlands. prosecutors. Both companies deny any wrongdoing.
The case has attracted the attention of a number of organizations that follow corruption charges in companies.
"Shell is facing growing dangers from this deal," Barnaby Pace told Global Witness on Friday, an anti-corruption group investigating the deal with Nigeria.
In 2011, Shell and Eni paid approximately $ 1.3 billion to the Nigerian government to settle a dispute over drilling rights in the offshore area, known as OPL 245.
The payment was aimed at ending a long legal battle between Shell and a company called Malabu, which was attended by former Nigerian Oil Minister Dan Etete.
Italian prosecutors have charged much of the money used to pay intermediaries.
The companies said they paid the funds legally to the Nigerian government and are not responsible for what happened later.
Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, and other employees of the Italian company are also defendants in the Italian case.
No current Shell executive is being tried in Italy, but a former senior executive, Malcolm Brinded, responsible for exploration and production, and three other former employees are indicted. All denied having done wrong.
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