Eni chief executive under investigation over $1bn Nigerian oil deal
Claudio Descalzi, chief executive of Eni, is under investigation in an international bribery case stemming from the $1.1bn acquisition of a Nigerian oilfield in 2011, the Italian state-controlled company said.
The announcement by Eni, which denies any “illegal conduct” in the matter, is a significant development in a long-running political and legal drama surrounding one of Nigeria’s most prized oil blocks with reserves estimated at 9bn barrels.
It also marks a test for the Italian government and its reformist prime minister Matteo Renzi, who picked Mr Descalzi to run Eni starting in April amid hopes that he would be part of a new generation of leaders at the country’s state-controlled companies.
Mr Descalzi was elevated from within Eni, where he worked under former chief executive Paolo Scaroni, and news of the probe into the Nigerian deal could trigger criticism that he was too much of an insider to usher in a clean break from the past.
Source: FT
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