Sonatrach-Saipem Scandal: New Chapter to Open in Milan Court Next Monday

The trial is expected to blow up the series of scandals, and will bring new and exciting testimonies in this case, after the scandals of the the trial in Algiers Criminal Court Council of Sonatrach 1 case.

It is almost certain that there’ll be a mediator to negotiate with Farid Bedjaoui, Omar Abour and Samir Ouriad, after they will be tried in absentia in this scandal, as they face charges of money laundering, tax evasion and international bribery and corruption, and this in view of the fact that the three are still wanted since more than six years.

In contrast, the Director of the operational activities of the company Saipem, Pietro Varone, who is considered the black box of the case by virtue of his post in the Saipem company, and its close relationship whith Farid Bedjaoui, and which spread even to the investment in the wine industry of southern Italy, in a private farm which was subject of a judicial reservation recently, as revealed by Barbara Bellone, a lawyer of Pietro Varone, who told Echorouk in an earlier time that the farm costs millions of Euros.

What is striking in the case is the absence of two prominent names or the “great whales” in this case, neither as defendants nor as witnesses, who are the former Algerian Energy Minister, Chakib Khalil, who attended the meeting, at least with the Italian Parties and facilitated the access to deals, according to Saipem officials’ testimonies during the investigation, and Paolo Scaroni, the former CEO of Eni complex, whose name was present in all the stages of the investigation, but the preliminary hearing’s judge at the Court of Milan acquitted him of all the charges.

Previously, the trial has been postponed from December 2, 2015 to January,25, 2016 because of the general strike of lawyers in Italy, which led the Court of Milan to be postponed for lack of defence, and the absence of three Algerian defendants as well.