An Italian court has acquitted Shell and Eni of corruption charges involving $1.1 billion payment in the OPL 245 deal in Nigeria.
Marco Tremolada, the judge, delivered the decision on Wednesday.
The OPL 245, more commonly known by Nigerians as the Malabu deal of 2011, involves the $1.3 billion purchase of an oil block by Royal Dutch Shell and Eni from Malabu Oil and Gas, a company owned by Dan Etete, a former minister of petroleum.
Out of the sum, $210 million went into government coffers as “signature bonus” — the rest was paid to Malabu Oil and Gas.
