Saipem-Sonatrach corruption scandal: names and sums revealed

Attorney General at a court in Italy asked to record all the evidences and documents related to the Sonatrach-Saipem’s Eni corruption scandal before hearings.

The Attorney General also asked for documents, bank statements and emails of eight officials at Saipem and Eni along with Farid Bedjaoui and Sonatrach’s employees.

Echorouk learnt that the eight officials are: Eni’s former CEO Paolo Scaroni, Saipem’s executive director Pietro Franco Tali, Saipem’s finance director Alessandro Bernini, Saipem’s Manager Director, Farid Bedjaoui, a close person to Algeria’s former energy minister Chakib Khalil, Saipem-Algeria’s former Director Tullio Orsi , Eni’s North Africa chief Antonio Vella and Samir Ouriad.

A document posted on the net showed that Saipem gained 8 billion euro-deals in Algeria in return for paying bribes to officials in the Algerian government.

The bribes were distributed as follows: 8.5 million euros in return for Mid-gas project on a gas pipeline between Algeria and Spain, 14.6 million euros in return for the Hassi Messaoud UTBS project, 8.6 million euros in return for LZ2 project on a gas pipeline between Hassi Rmel and Arzew and 77.4 million euros in return for LNG GL3Z project in Arzew, Sonatrach’s industrial zone.

Saipem also paid 34.5 million euros bribe in return for a liquefied petroleum gas treatment facility in Hassi Messaoud and another bribe of 41.4 million euros in return for a gas field eastern Hassi Messaoud.