Shell accused of corruption in Nigerian oil field deal
Senior executives at Shell have been accused of knowing that $1.3bn paid to the Nigerian government in 2011 for the acquisition of the OPL 245 oilfield would be laundered and used to pay bribes. Over $1bn was passed to a company called Malabu, owned by Dan Etete, who had acquired the rights to the oil field whilst acting as the country’s oil minister. Etete was convicted of money laundering in a separate case. Anti-corruption charities Finance Uncovered and Global Witness have evidence that representatives from Shell negotiated with Etete for a year before the deal was concluded.
“When it’s all done, we have to make up our mind whether we just say: ‘Well, that’s it. We’ve investigated everything that could be investigated, and now we don’t… we concluded there is nothing wrong. And we’ll put it to rest,’” he said, “or whether we just say: ‘Well, y’know, there’s a few funny things here. Maybe we should just disclose it to the DoJ, because it all happened at a time we were, of course, under deferred prosecution agreement. So we should have maybe at the time been more open with the DoJ than we now find we have been.’”

BuzzFeed News and Il Sore 24 Ore asked Shell a series of questions about its role in the OPL 245 deal, including whether it has contacted the DoJ with its concerns over the DPA, whether it contacted the Serious Fraud Office over the raid on its offices, and what policies and practices it had in place to prevent bribery or corruption from the proceeds of the OPL 245 deal. The company provided the following statement:

“Given this matter is currently under investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment on specifics. However, based on our review of the Prosecutor of Milan's file and all of the information and facts available to Shell, we do not believe that there is a basis to prosecute Shell.

“Furthermore, we are not aware of any evidence to support a case against any former or current Shell employee. If the evidence ultimately proves that improper payments were made by Malabu or others to then current government officials in exchange for improper conduct relating to the 2011 settlement of the long-standing legal disputes, it is Shell’s position that none of those payments were made with its knowledge, authorization or on its behalf.

“We are taking this matter seriously and are fully co-operating with the relevant authorities. This includes when appropriate having shared the key findings of an investigation led by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, an independent international law firm. We have also accurately reported on the OPL 245 settlement in our annual reports.

“Shell attaches the greatest importance to business integrity. It’s one of our core values and is a central tenet of the Business Principles that govern the way we do business.”

BuzzFeed News and Il Sore 24 Ore also contacted ENI with respect to its role in the deal. A spokesman replied:

“Neither ENI nor Shell paid any monies other than as contemplated and recorded by the Block Resolution Agreement and did not pay to Malabu, to Chief Dan Etete or to any public officer. ENI is not involved in any investigation in The Netherlands …

“The payments made by ENI and Shell to the Nigerian government for title to OPL 245 were made to an escrow account with an international bank held by the Federal Government of Nigeria pursuant to the Block 245 Resolution Agreement. Neither ENI nor Shell paid any monies other than as contemplated and recorded by the Block Resolution Agreement and did not pay to Malabu, to Chief Dan Etete or to any public officer …

“ENI and Shell are fully cooperating with the relevant authorities in Italy and in Nigeria. We shall continue to cooperate with relevant authorities in the investigations and continue to underscore the fact that ENI and its personnel have not been involved in any wrongdoing.”

