Italy protests Swiss delay in releasing evidence in Nigeria graft case

MILAN, June 21 (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors have
complained to Switzerland about lengthy delays in obtaining
evidence they have requested in an international corruption case
involving oil firms Shell RDSa.L and Eni ENI.MI , a source
familiar with the matter said.
Milan prosecutors wrote in April to the Geneva prosecutors'
office in a previously undisclosed letter, describing their
three-year wait for documents to be handed over by Swiss
authorities as "unprecedented", the source said.
Swiss police found the documents in a briefcase they seized
in April 2016 in an inquiry unrelated to the corruption case,
and the source said Milan prosecutors believed the documents
could be vital to their prosecution of Eni and Shell.
But Italy's request for the documents to be handed over has
been blocked by Swiss courts after repeated legal challenges by
the owner of the briefcase, Nigerian lawyer Emeka Obi, who was
charged alongside Eni and Shell executives in the graft case.
In September 2018, Obi was convicted of corruption and
sentenced to four years in jail by a Milan judge in a fast-track
trial, though he has appealed, remains outside Italy and his
lawyer continues to pursue legal action in Switzerland to block
Italy's request. Obi's Italian lawyer, Roberto Pisano, did not reply to an
email requesting a comment.
A separate trial continues in Milan against Eni, Shell and
executives of both firms on charges they paid $1.1 billion in
bribes to secure the purchase of a Nigerian oil field in 2011.
All defendants deny wrongdoing. The Geneva prosecutors' office said in a statement to
Reuters that it had spared no effort to cooperate with Italy
over its request, adding the Swiss judicial process was long and
involved delays that it admitted could cost precious time.
Milan prosecutors have an understanding of the contents of
the documents and believe they would strengthen their case
against defendants in the Nigeria graft trial, the source said.
They hope their letter will be passed onto the Swiss Federal
Penal Tribunal in Bellinzona which is considering which
documents can be passed to Milan prosecutors. The tribunal's
eventual ruling is also subject to appeal.