Eni, Shell trial to resume in July

An Italian court has set July 20 as the next trial date for a case on alleged corruption by Shell and Eni, local media reported Wednesday.

At that hearing, the judge is set to decide whether the Nigerian government will be included as a party that suffered damages, daily Business Day reported. A week earlier, an appeal to reverse the trial to the preliminary hearing stage had been ruled inadmissible.

In addition to the two companies, 13 defendants were sent to trial by an Italian judge in December 2017. Among the defendants are Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi and former chief Paolo Scaroni.

Malcolm Brinded, former executive director for upstream international; Peter Robinson, former vice-president for Shell’s sub-Saharan Africa operations; Guy Colegate, a business adviser; and John Copleston, a strategic investment adviser, were all charged with bribery in October in relation to the 2011 sale of the OPL 245 block offshore Nigeria to Shell and Eni.

The trial was originally scheduled for March but was postponed to May. After a procedural hearing, the court readjourned until June.