In relation to Shell and Eni’s 2011 acquisition of the rights to Oil Prospecting Licence, OPL, 245 – one of Nigeria’s most profitable oilfields – the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services has made a request to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reopen the investigation under the Foreign Corruption Practices Act.
Lawmakers have presented information suggesting that Shell and Eni were involved in bribing several Nigerian government officials, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, with a total sum of $1.1 billion.
As indicated by the legislators, “Both companies are implicated in a scenario where $1.1 billion was paid as bribes to Nigerian government officials, including the then President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Shell and Eni, which are both under the scrutiny of the US Security and Exchange Commission, are still profiting from this transaction in contravention of the FCPA.”