Saipem-Sonatrach Case: Prosecution Requests 6 Years Of Jail For AC Milan President

Prosecutors of Milan Court of Appeal in northern Italy have sought prison terms of 6 years and 4 months against the current president of AC Milan football club and former CEO of the energy giant Eni, Paolo Scaroni, in the bribes of the partly owned Saipam by the same complex, to Sonatrach of Algeria years ago to win oil and gas projects in Algeria.

Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper said the Italian general prosecutor of Milan Court of Appeals, Massimo Gaballo, has sought a 6-year and four-month jail sentence against Paolo Scaroni, the former chief executive of Eni, which held 43% of Saipem shares, on charges of the company’s involvement in a criminal offense in the so-called the “200 million euros bribe”, which pushed officials in Sonatrach years ago to win oil and gas contracts.

Scaroni was acquitted by the same court during the previous trial (first instance), but this time the Court of Appeal sought the same sentence against Eni, which the prosecutor Izodoro Palma had previously requested as the owner of the judicial file, and requested confirmation of the conviction of Saipem, which was previously pronounced by the Court of Milan.

The Court of Appeal also sought the conviction of Saipem and Eni, which is the largest shareholder in Saipem, for the same facts – the bribery of 200 million euros from Saipam to employees and collaborators with Sonatrach.

It sought a five-year prison sentence for the former Eni North Africa director Antonio Vella, who was acquitted in the previous trial (first instance) and 900,000 euros as a fine against Eni.

According to the charges against Scaroni, Eni complex, which was headed by Scaroni in 2008, used Saipem, which is one of its branches to pay bribes to the former Energy Minister, Chakib Khalil, and his surroundings in connection with the acquisition of shares of the Canadian company “First Calgary” in an oil field near Hassi Messaoud (southern Algeria) Manzel Lajmat, which was estimated at 41 million euros.

According to the justification of the judicial authorities during the previous trial (first instance) in which Scaroni was acquitted, there were no indications that Eni was aware of the agreement between Khalil and Saipem.

Saipem reported months ago that the sanctions that were imposed by the Algerian Judicial Council in 2016 were null and void after an appeal was filed and the bank’s assets in Algeria were frozen (two bank accounts) of 71 million euros (about DZD 100 billion).