Prosecutors Seek Trial of Eni Boss over Nigeria Oil Deal

Judicial sources disclosed on Wednesday prosecutors had asked for the CEO of Italian oil major, Eni, Claudio Descalzi, along with 10 other people, to stand trial in a case revolving around the purchase of a Nigerian oilfield by the company and Royal Dutch Shell for about $1.3 billion.

The request comes at a delicate moment for Eni, just weeks before the government proposes its CEO candidate for the group for the next three years.

Descalzi, a veteran oilman who has refocused the group on the job of finding oil and gas, was appointed by the government of Matteo Renzi in 2014.

The prosecutors in the case also asked for Eni and Shell to be sent to trial, the sources said.

Under Italian law a company can be held responsible if it is deemed to have failed to prevent, or attempt to prevent, a crime by an employee that benefited the company.

Eni said its board was confident the group was free of any involvement. Shell declined to comment.

The Italian inquiry is one of several under way into the acquisition of OPL-245, including current cases in Holland and Nigeria.

In January, a Nigerian court ordered the temporary forfeiture of assets and the transfer of operations of the oilfield.

A court must now set a date for a hearing at which a judge will decide whether to accept the prosecutors’ request for a trial or acquit the accused.