New leaked emails show that both Shell and Eni were culpable in the plan to transfer the sum of $1.1 billion they paid for OPL 245 to the dubious Malabu Oil & Gas firm.
The infamous company was founded by Dan Etete, a former petroleum minister.
The two oil giants insisted they only made transactions and cooperation with the federal government. However, an Italian journalist Claudio Gatti obtained and published fragments of email correspondence between the officials of Shell and Eni.
The messages show that both companies actually wanted the money to be transferred to Malabu and to hide their involvement in the fraud.
Six weeks before the deal was signed, an escrow agreement dated March 7, 2011, was drafted among the federal government, Malabu Oil & Gas Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (Eni’s Nigerian subsidiary), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Limited (Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary), and J.P. Morgan Chase.
However, on March 30, 2011, conscious of the fact that it was getting involved in a criminal act, Shell sent another email to Eni which basically suggested a “new structure” for the deal. It can be explained by an attempt to hide its involvement with Malabu.
This new structure, which was later agreed by all involved in the deal, including the federal government, was tagged Resolution Agreements.
A final email from Eni to Shell, days before the deal was finalized, further discussed whether Malabu would be in the room when the deal would be signed with the federal government.
Leaked messages also indict aides of the then president, Goodluck Jonathan, who have allegedly conspired to divert money to Etete-owned structures.
Earlier this week a British judge, suggested the Jonathan administration did not act in the interests of Nigeria when it closed their eyes on the money transfer to Malabu. He also hinted that “Fortunato” (the lucky one), a reference codename used by Italian investigators, was linked to the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, who was the alleged beneficiary of the slush funds from shady deals.
Details on Premium Times
Posted by tboixy
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