Algeria refuses to pay 500 million euros to Saipem due to bribes

Algeria is expected to not pay its dues to Italy’s Saipem estimated at about 500 million euros as the company is involved in a corruption scandal along with officials at national oil group Sonatrach.

Saipem’s new Chief Executive Umberto Vergine Tuesday said the company faced difficulties in receiving paid invoices of its projects in Algeria.

“We are having some difficulties to get recent payments and the worst-case scenario is we won’t get these payments,” he told analysts.

He added that Saipem had no details on the state of the case or the people involved.

“We have no timeline on Algeria. We are totally blind on the probe.”

The Italian company’s three-monthly report showed that its operating profit in the first quarter fell 45.8 percent to 202 million euros. This is due to judicial investigation conducted by Algerian and Italian authorities.

Earlier on Tuesday, it said Algerian justice informed it that investigations would be extended.

“We have not identified any reason to indicate that the risk exists,” Vergine said.