Disagreement between Chakib and Meziane uncovers Sonatrach-Saipem scandal
الشروق أونلاين
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Leaked new phone call of the former Executive Director of “ENI”, Paolo Scaroni, showed his confirmation of Saipem’s payment of bribes to Algerian politicians and government officials, as he laughed in an interview with one of his assistants when speaking about bribes and said: “You know that Saipem found itself in a war of settling accounts and interests between Algerian politicians, but bribery was done.”
Same spokesman said: “The case occurred when a dispute between the former Energy Minister Chakib Khelil and Mohamed Meziane, Chairman of Sonatrach group.”
Leak of the call came via the official website of Italian newspaper La Repubblica (left-wing orientation), which did not mentioned the date of the call, and it was published fully on the website in 1 minutes and 24 seconds of duration – listened by Echorouk- as Paolo Scaroni was speaking to one of his assistants called Tali Gianni, who told Scaroni: “Journalist sent you an e-mail yesterday and is preparing an investigation on Saipem’s activity in Algeria.” Scaroni said: “Yes, they have written a whole page of Saipem case in Algeria.”
Scaroni’s assistant said at the same recorded and leaked call: “Investigation is talking about the possibility of exposing Saipem or perhaps Saipem was the victim of a conspiracy in Algeria, through paying bribes and kickbacks to officials in the Algerian government, and is currently at the Algerian justice.”
These leaks come only a few days after the publication of statements of the former General Manager of Sonatrach, Mohamed Meziane to the French-speaking media, through which he asserted that they do not represent anything and that they were the victims of war of interests.
