The United States District Court, following a motion by the U.S. Department of Justice, dismissed the criminal information filed against Snamprogetti Netherlands BV, in relation to incidents of corruption of Nigerian public officials in the period prior to June 2004 in connection with the TSKJ consortium’s installation of Liquefied Natural Gas plants on Bonny Island in Nigeria.
The dismissal definitively concludes the U.S. criminal proceeding against Snamprogetti Netherlands BV, a former indirect subsidiary of Eni and current subsidiary of Saipem. Snamprogetti Netherlands BV had a 25% participation in the TSKJ consortium.
The dismissal of the criminal information follows the two-year period set out in the deferred prosecution agreement entered into in July 2010 between Eni, Saipem and the US Department of Justice, and of the fulfillment by Eni and Saipem of the commitments contained therein. Among those commitments was the development of an effective anti-corruption compliance program, which Eni has adopted and demanded of all its subsidiaries. In the last two years, Eni has become an international role model for the development and implementation of anti-corruption practices and programs.
As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, a compliance monitor was not imposed on Snamprogetti Netherlands BV, as it was on other members of the TSKJ consortium who have reached resolutions with the DOJ.
[mappress] LNG World News Staff, September 19, 2012; Image: Eni