Outdated
The claim described an earlier position that has since changed.
Global Witness said in March 2021 that two middlemen had already been found guilty for their role in the OPL 245 deal in a separate trial.
Two middlemen have already been found guilty for their role in this deal
- About
- Eni S.p.A.
- Claim made by
- Global Witness, press report
- Published
- 17 March 2021
- Evidence score
- 64 How it was scored
- Last reviewed
- 25 October 2026
Why this label
The statement was accurate when made. Two intermediaries had been sentenced to four years for international corruption in September 2018S3. That position later changed. TheCable reported that an Italian appeal court overturned the jail sentences of the two menS8. The Global Witness statement now describes an earlier stage of the case. We could not confirm the date of the appeal ruling. The TheCable page shows no date and says only that the ruling came on a Thursday. A search result points to late June 2021, but no page we read states the date. We did not read the appeal ruling or find whether it was challenged further.
Current procedural position
Sentences of September 2018S3 overturned by an Italian appeal court on a date we could not confirm from a read recordS8.
Record supporting the assessment
An Italian appeal court on Thursday overturned the jail sentences
sentenced to four years for international corruption
Conflicting or limiting record
No record located that conflicts with this assessment.
Evidence score: 64 of 100
The score grades how well the record establishes this assessment. It is not a score of Eni S.p.A.. Score = source authority + directness + corroboration + procedural accuracy + currency + reproducibility.
| Component | Points | Max | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source authorityIs the source competent to establish the proposition? | 16 | 30 | The reversal is known from one press report, not the appeal ruling. |
| DirectnessDoes the source state the proposition or only discuss adjacent facts? | 15 | 20 | The report states the reversal but not its date. |
| CorroborationDo independent records support the same material point? | 7 | 15 | Only one read source describes the reversal. |
| Procedural accuracyDoes the record settle the procedural state the claim describes? | 11 | 15 | The reversal is reported as done, but we did not see whether it was challenged further. |
| CurrencyHas the record been checked against later developments? | 8 | 10 | We found no later record restoring the convictions. |
| ReproducibilityCan a reader locate the passage and repeat the assessment? | 7 | 10 | The pages are public but the reversal report is undated. |
| Total | 64 | 100 |
Timeline
Related cases
- Milan Public Prosecutor v Eni S.p.A., Royal Dutch Shell plc and othersTribunal of Milan. Criminal. Not published on the pages we read.Stage: Final acquittal
Revision history
- Assessment first published with label Outdated.
Have a record that changes this assessment? See corrections and responses.
Sources
- S8Tier C OPL 245: Italian court overturns Emeka Obi's four-year jail sentenceTheCable (Nigeria). Press report. Not shown on the page.Reports that an Italian appeal court overturned the jail sentences of the two intermediaries on a Thursday. The page shows no date or byline, so the date of the reversal is not confirmed.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
- S3Tier C Shell, Eni Acquitted in Massive Corruption TrialCourthouse News Service (Cain Burdeau). Press report. March 2021.Reports the Milan acquittal on a Wednesday and the September 2018 sentences of two intermediaries. The page shows no date. It does not give the court's reasons.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
- S4Tier D Acquittal of Shell and Eni in corruption trial “a stain on Italy”Global Witness. Press report. 17 March 2021.Campaign group statement that restates the prosecutor's bribery allegation and cites the intermediaries' convictions. It is advocacy, not a finding.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
- S1Tier B Eni: unmotivated and disconcerting Nigeria judicial case endedEni S.p.A.. Company statement. 19 July 2022.Company account that the prosecutors' appeal was dropped and the acquittals became final. It is not the court order itself.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
- S2Tier C Italy prosecutors abandon $1.3 billion Eni Nigeria graft appealThe African Mirror (Emilio Parodi, citing Reuters). Press report. 20 July 2022.Reuters-sourced report that prosecutors dropped the criminal appeal, which makes the acquittals final, and that Nigeria's civil claim continued. It does not cover the two intermediaries. It replaces an undated Energy Voice page with no headline shown.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
- S9Tier C Italy Court acquits Eni, Shell in $1.3bn Nigeria graft caseSweetcrude Reports (citing Reuters). Press report. 19 July 2022.Reuters-attributed report that the appeal court's step finalised the acquittal of Eni and Shell and that civil proceedings would continue. No reporter is credited.
Other claims about Eni S.p.A.
- Contradicted82The proposition that Eni and Shell were proven to have paid bribes to Nigerian politicians through the US$1.1 billion OPL 245 payment, as alleged by the Milan prosecutor and summarised by Global Witness in March 2021.Press report, 17 March 20214 records citedBribery
- Supported81Eni said on 19 July 2022 that the OPL 245 criminal case had ended and that the March 2021 acquittals of Eni and its managers were full and final.Company statement, 19 July 20223 records citedCorporate status
- Supported79Eni said in March 2021 that the allegations of international corruption in its Congo probe ceased to exist after the charge was reduced to undue inducement, and that its EUR 11.8 million deal was not an admission of guilt.Company statement, 18 March 20214 records citedBribery