MILAN, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has
described as "misleading" any implication that it had closed a
probe into alleged corruption by Italian energy major Eni for
lack of evidence and said the investigation could be re-opened
if circumstances changed.
Eni ENI.MI , the biggest foreign oil and gas producer in
Africa, is currently on trial in Milan on graft allegations
surrounding the 2011 acquisition of a giant Nigerian oilfield.
It has also been involved in a long-running corruption case
involving its previously 43%-owned unit Saipem SPMI.MI over
alleged bribes paid to win contracts in Algeria. A Milan court
acquitted it last year but the decision is subject to appeal.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) had been
conducting its own investigation into the Nigerian and Algerian
allegations independently of the Italian court cases.
On Tuesday, Eni issued a statement saying the DoJ had
informed it that the investigation had been closed with no
action taken. Following Eni's statement, Italian prosecutors wrote to the
DoJ seeking clarification and asking if the decision to close
the inquiry was due to lack of evidence, as they said Eni's
statement seemed to imply.
According to a reply filed with the court in Milan and seen
by Reuters on Wednesday, a trial attorney for the DOJ said that
in light of the "misleading implication" of a lack of evidence
highlighted by the prosecutors, he was sending them a copy of
the DOJ's original communication with Eni's counsel in the
United States.
In that letter, the acting chief of the DOJ's Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act unit said the inquiries had been closed
because Italian authorities were prosecuting the case.
"If the circumstances noted above change, the Department may
reopen its inquiries," he said.
Shortly after issuing its first English language statement
on Tuesday, Eni issued a second version with a slightly
different wording that removed a passage saying the DoJ decision
confirmed investigations by independent advisers and Eni's own
controlling bodies that found no illegal activity.
An Eni spokesman said the original statement had contained a
translation error and had been replaced as soon as possible. He
said the DoJ's statement that it could re-open the investigation
if circumstances changed was in line with normal procedure.
"If the DoJ would decide to reopen its investigation based
on events new and unknown, then Eni will cooperate again with
the Department to further demonstrate that Eni and its
management are not involved in any illegal conduct," the
spokesman said in an emailed statement.
On Wednesday, Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L , which is also on
trial over allegations surrounding the acquisition of the OPL
245 field in Nigeria, said it had been informed that the DoJ had
closed its inquiry into Shell over the deal.