Reuters reported that Italian judges are expected to hand down their verdict earlier than expected, according to a top court official.
The case, which is one of the oil industry’s biggest-ever corruption trials, is in relation to Oil Production License (OPL) purchase in Nigeria.
Marco Tremolada, President of the judges that will pass sentence, said:
- “Lawyers for the two companies would be heard in January, followed by prosecutors and defence lawyers in February. A final decision could then be reached by the end of March.”
What you should know about the oil field corruption case
- The long-running graft case revolves around the purchase of the Nigerian OPL 245 offshore oil field in 2011 for about $1.3 billion.
- Prosecutors allege that about $1.1 billion of that was siphoned off to politicians and middlemen.
- The companies and defendants involved, including Eni’s current CEO Claudio Descalzi, have all denied any wrongdoing.
source:- https://nairametrics.com/2020/12/17/italy-court-to-give-verdict-on-nigerian-oil-field-corruption-case-by-march-2021/
