More than
half of the N171.32 billion ($1.1 billion) paid to Malabu Oil and Gas for the
procurement of one of Nigeria’s richest oil fields, OPL 245 by Shell and Eni
was used to bribe Nigerian politicians and intermediaries who helped to secure
the controversial deal, reports Reuters.
According to
a letter seeking the help of UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to freeze the
assets of those involved, Italian prosecutors said some of the N83 billion
($533 million) slush money was used to buy private jets and armored vehicles.
“We are
investigating many money transfers to many people in various countries who
received sums that vary from millions of dollars to thousands of dollars,”
Italian prosecutors told Reuters.
British
prosecutors acting on the request have already frozen two accounts with
combined sum of N29.5 billion ($190 million) allegedly belonging to the chief
intermediary, Emeka Obi.
Former oil
minister, who was convicted for money laundering in France, Dan Etete, owns
Malabu Oil and Gas. The company was allegedly incorporated five days before the
oil block was awarded to it in 1998 during the regime of late military
dictator, Sani Abacha.
While trying
to cover his link with the company, Etete registered the company with a fictitious
director, Kweku Amafegha. The company also allegedly listed a fake address in
the registration documents.
Etete
confessed to a British court in 2013 that former President, Olusegun Obasanjo,
demanded a slice of the oil block as bribe.
The federal government acted as a conduit for the fund after Shell and Eni raised concerns over transferring the money directly to Malabu due to Etete’s conviction.
The federal government acted as a conduit for the fund after Shell and Eni raised concerns over transferring the money directly to Malabu due to Etete’s conviction.
Despite
overwhelming evidences showing that Shell and Eni were aware that the money
would be paid to a character with a shady background, officials of the
companies have denied any wrong doing in the affair.
For
instance, prosecutors said that a senior official of Shell had a face-to-face
meeting with Etete over expensive “lunch and lots of iced champagne” few months
before the money was transferred to the Nigerian government.
An email
presented during the trial also mentioned that the Shell official who feted
with Etete would refer to someone in The Hague known as “Peter” over the terms
of the deal. Curiously, Shell’s CEO is named Peter Voser.
The Italian
prosecutors are investigating the role of Eni’s former CEO, Paola Scaroni and
his successor Claudio Descalzi, for alleged international corruption over the
scandal.
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