19 September 2012, Sweetcrude, HOUSTON – ITALIAN oil and gas group, Eni, said, Wednesday, the United States District Court has dropped a probe into a former unit of the company over corruption charges in Nigeria.
“The dismissal definitively concludes the U.S. criminal proceedings against Snamprogetti Netherlands BV, a former indirect subsidiary of Eni and current subsidiary of Saipem,” Eni said in a statement.
Reuters reports that oil service group Saipem is 43 percent controlled by Eni.
In 2010, the Justice Department filed criminal charges against Snamprogetti, as part of the TSKJ consortium, for corruption of Nigerian public officials regarding contracts to build liquid natural gas plants on Bonny Island.
The company agreed to pay $240 million in a deferred prosecution agreement.
The US Department of Justice at the time said it would drop the charges after two years if anti-corruption measures were put in place.
