Italy Judge Approves Eni Settlement In Congo Graft Inquiry

A Milan judge approved Thursday an 11.8-million-euro settlement agreed by Italian energy giant Eni to end a corruption probe into its activities in the Republic of Congo, the firm said

Milan, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Mar, 2021 ):A Milan judge approved Thursday an 11.8-million-euro settlement agreed by Italian energy giant Eni to end a corruption probe into its activities in the Republic of Congo, the firm said.

The judge "has accepted today the proposal of agreed sanctions as submitted by the public prosecutor and which Eni adhered to", Eni said in a statement.

It added that the court "also confirmed the absence of alleged offences of international corruption" which in turn allowed the settlement to be agreed.

In a statement last week, ENI announced the settlement, worth $13.9 million, had been agreed after the corruption offence was reduced to "undue incitement".

The investigation into alleged corruption by ENI and one of its managers was launched in 2017.

According to Italian media, it related to payment of suspected bribes when oil licences in Congo were being renewed in 2015.

To secure renewal, Eni was accused of agreeing to sell parts of its licence to a shell corporation set up by Congolese public officials.

Eni repeated that the settlement "does not represent an admission of inadequacy of its systems or a guilty plea by the company in relation to the alleged offence, but a settlement aimed at avoiding the continuation of a judicial process that would entail significant further expenditure".

The news comes a week after a Milan court acquitted Eni and petrol giant Shell following a corruption trial relating to a major oil exploration deal in Nigeria.