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Italian judge puts Nigerian businessman on trial in oil graft case

Published 19/02/2020, 17:52
© Reuters.  Italian judge puts Nigerian businessman on trial in oil graft case
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MILAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - An Italian judge has ordered a

Nigerian businessman to stand trial for alleged international

corruption relating to a Nigeria oil graft case involving Eni

ENI.MI and Shell RDSa.L , a judicial source and his lawyer

said on Wednesday.

Milan prosecutors allege that Alhai Aliyu Abubakar played a

central role in one of the oil industry's biggest scandals in

years, handing out more than $500 million in cash to powerful

Nigerian government officials. The money is alleged to come out of the $1.3 billion licence

fee paid by Eni and Shell for access to the OPL-245 offshore

oilfield located in the southern Niger Delta.

Abubakar's Italian lawyer, Davide Pozzi, said his client,

who lives in Nigeria, denies any wrongdoing in the case.

"Mr Abubakar will clarify his position in the appropriate

place," he said.

Italian prosecutors allege that Eni and Shell bought the

oilfield in 2011 knowing that most of the purchase price would

be siphoned off to middlemen and local politicians.

Both firms and the managers accused in the Milan court case,

including Eni's current chief executive Claudio Descalzi, have

denied any wrongdoing. Abubakar, an influential Nigerian businessman, was already

under investigation but prosecutors were unable to locate him to

serve the necessary deeds to put him on trial until he appeared

in the case as a witness via a video linkup in February 2019.

The start of his trial has been scheduled for May 14 before

a Milan court, Pozzi said. However it is unclear whether he will

actually appear.

In the main part of the multi-strand case, prosecutors are

due to begin summing up and setting out sentencing requests for

Descalzi and other defendants beginning on March 25.

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