Judge calls for more JP Morgan disclosure in OPL 245 case

JP Morgan must provide more documents to Nigeria, as the two sides duke it out over payments in connection to the OPL 245 scandal.

Justice Calver handed down a judgement this morning, following a hearing that took place on May 5.

Nigeria welcomed the ruling. A representative said JP Morgan had been required “to disclose documents from 5 further senior executives and compliance officers at the bank who were involved in signing off on US$875 million of fraudulent payments in connection with the OPL 245 scandal and in US compliance investigations carried out shortly before the bank decided to pay out anyway”.

The bank should give a “clear and unambiguous account of exactly how the decisions to make these huge payments were made when it was on notice that to pay out risked its customer, Nigeria, being defrauded,” the representative continued.

“Justice will be sought for the people of Nigeria, who will be pleased the trial will begin early next year.”

Calver’s ruling set out a number of searches JP Morgan must carry out. Among those named to comply with the order are Pamela Johnson, Lester Pataki and John Gibbons, high-ranking executives at the bank. read more

JPMorgan Memo Warned $875 Million Nigeria Payment Was Graft Risk

By Jonathan Browning: 7 May 2021, 08:00 BST Updated on 7 May 2021, 08:29 BST

European and Nigerian courts have been raking over the purchase by Eni SpA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc of the oil license in Africa’s largest crude producer a decade ago. While the energy giants were recently acquitted of corruption charges in Milan in a decision prosecutors could appeal, Nigeria’s government is continuing to seek compensation from JPMorgan. read more

Senior executive directors of Royal Dutch Shell Plc had advance sight some days ago of a draft of the article below. It is a follow-up article by a whistleblower whose identity is known to us.

Under Shell’s egregious stewardship, Iraq is literally burning billions of dollars in lost revenue, and the country’s power plants are being deprived of the much-needed fuel supply to end Iraq’s chronic power crisis.  The power outages have been the main destabilizing force in the country, which have also often led to mass protesting, civil unrest, and countless civilian casualties.    

By: The Iraqi Governance Revolt & Systemic Overhaul!

Introduction

Iraq holds the 12th largest natural gas reserve in the world, however, the country equally represents 12% of global gas flaring, “suggesting there may be systematic and structural barriers to reducing gas flaring practices,” according to the latest Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report produced by The World Bank Group.

Although officially signed in 2011, Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) formalized the establishment of its gas monopoly in Iraq, the $17 billion Basrah Gas Company (BGC), in May 2013, which also gave birth to the so called ‘world’s largest flare reduction program’.   read more

Nigeria: OPL 245 – Eni Threatens Legal Action Against Heda, Others for Defamation

By Peter Uzoho: April 14, 2021

The Italian oil major, Eni, has threatened to take legal action against the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) and other critics for allegedly defaming the company over the Milan Court’s ruling on the Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 case.

Eni, in a statement that was issued yesterday in Abuja, said it found it shocking and contrary to any principle of law that the HEDA had ignored all the facts in the Milan judgment and went about defaming the organisation, its management and the Italian Court. read more

Ensure Shell, Eni Face Prosecution In Nigeria, Group Tells Buhari

Eni and Shell have been dragged to court in Milan, Italy over alleged cases of corruption in relation to the OPL245.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK APR 12, 2021

An anti-corruption group, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the oil giants, Shell and Eni, face prosecution in Nigeria.

The group, in a letter addressed to Buhari, advised the President to ignore public statements by the oil company, Eni, that the trial the company had faced in Italy should substitute for any other possible legal action in Nigeria. read more

Drumcliffe’s involvement in the OPL 245 case

A new side to the OPL 245 case has emerged in the state of Delaware, which has the most lenient corporate laws in the United States.

The Nigerian government enlists help from US offshore fund

According to open and undisputed sources , the federal government of Nigeria commissioned the Lagos-based law firm Johnson & Johnson, whose principal partner is Babatunde Olabide Johnson, to represent it in the lawsuit filed against Eni and Shell in Italy and other countries. Johnson & Johnson is reported to have drawn up an agreement for the covering of legal costs with the American firm Poplar Falls, founded in 2016 in Delaware by Maryland-based offshore fund Drumcliffe Partners, which specialises in financing lawsuits for debt recovery. read more

Iraq Moves To Exploit Its Massive Natural Gas Reserves

EXTRACTS

…that said, it has made some progress in developing gas resources, most notably in 2019/2020 when the US$17 billion 25-year Basra Gas Company (BGC) project with Royal Dutch Shell…

The original design plans for Nebras – formulated between Shell and the Iraq Oil Ministry and Ministry of Industry and Minerals – were for a project that could produce at least 1.8 million metric tonnes per year (mtpy) of various petrochemicals. read more

By John Donovan

On 1st April 2021, I sent the email printed below to Royal Dutch Shell PLC Chief Executive Mr Ben van Beurden and to his legal director, Mr Donny Ching.

It contained serious allegations by a credible whistleblower about Shell’s alleged corrupt activities in Iraq in collusion with the Iranian regime.

I invited Shell to comment. Shell chose not to do so.

Shell also had time to obtain a legal injunction to prevent publication.

Shell chose not to do so.

Shell could have requested more time to investigate. read more

OPL 245: Eni, Shell must face corruption charges in Nigeria, CSOs tell FG 

A coalition of civil society organisations has urged the federal government to press corruption charges against Eni, Shell, and other defendants involved in the OPL 245 deal.

This comes after an Italian court acquitted Shell, Eni and other defendants of corruption charges in the OPL 245 deal.

In a letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, the CSOs said there would be no risk of double jeopardy due to the differences between legal systems in Italy and Nigeria. 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

SHELL COMMENTS ON THE VERDICT FROM THE MILAN TRIBUNAL OVER OPL-245

Mar 17, 2021

Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“RDS” or the “Company”), today made the following statement after the Milan Tribunal acquitted the company of charges related to Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 in Nigeria:

“We welcome today’s decision by the Milan Tribunal. We have always maintained that the 2011 settlement was legal, designed to resolve a decade-long legal dispute and unlock development of the OPL 245 block. At the same time, this has been a difficult learning experience for us. Shell is a company that operates with integrity and we work hard every day to ensure our actions not only follow the letter and spirit of the law, but also live up to society’s wider expectations of us.” read more

Shell, Eni acquitted in Nigeria oil corruption case

Three year trial revolved around the 2011 purchase of offshore oil field, report says

MILAN – A court in Milan on Wednesday acquitted oil giants Shell and Italy’s Eni of corruption charges in a $1.1 billion bribery case involving control of a lucrative Nigerian oil block.

In addition to the companies, Eni’s current CEO, his predecessor and a former Nigerian oil minister were among 13 defendants acquitted after a three-year trial involving the 2011 purchase of the OPL 245 offshore oil field. read more

Eni and Shell Acquitted of Nigeria Bribery Charges in Milan

Alberto Brambilla, Laura Hurst: Mar 17 2021, 9:24 PM Mar 18 2021, 4:43 AM

(Bloomberg) — Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and several of their current and former executives were acquitted of corruption charges related to a Nigerian oil deal by a court in Milan.

The verdict ends a three-year legal saga that loomed large over the tenure of Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi, who was among those found not guilty on Wednesday. Italian prosecutors had sought an eight-year jail term for him. read more

Italy court acquits Eni and Shell in Nigerian corruption case

MILAN — A Milan court on Wednesday acquitted energy companies Eni and Royal Dutch Shell along with a series of past and present managers including Eni Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi in the oil industry’s biggest corruption scandal.

The sentence, read out in court by judge Marco Tremolada, comes more than three years after the trial first began and after a total of 74 hearings. He said the companies and defendants had been acquitted as there was no case to answer. read more

Shell, Eni Found Not Guilty of Corruption in Nigeria Oil Case

A Milan court has found European oil companies Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Eni SpA, along with the latter’s chief executive, not guilty of bribery and other charges on Wednesday in one of the energy industry’s biggest corruption cases.

Shell and Eni, along with Claudio Descalzi—who has been with Italy’s state-backed Eni for 40 years and chief executive officer since 2014—were on trial over a $1.3 billion payment for drilling rights in Nigeria. read more