Like Mr Adoke, all parties in the
The lawyer representing
The lawyer reaffirmed the Nigerian government's stance on Mr Adoke, ex-petroleum minister
Former President,
"This process concerns corruptors: our rule on international corruption allows only Italian jurisdiction for obvious reasons of non-interference in the sovereignty of the victim state with respect to its public officials," the lawyer began.
"But the
"In addition to the decision to become a civil party in this Italian trial, the only case in international corruption trials, and in addition to providing cooperation to the Italian judicial authorities in the form of rogatory letters, the issue in
On Wednesday, the lawyer informed the court of "criminal prosecution in
Mr Adoke has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Illicit Flow
PREMIUM
Talking about the alleged illegal movement of money from escrow accounts,
He reportedly said: "The Guardia di Finanza - Italian financial police - has reconstructed the flow of money, documented in documents, that goes from the payment by Eni to the escrow 2 account in the name of the Nigerian Government of the time, through the attempted transfers made by FGN to the BSI bank and the Lebanese bank in favour of the company Petrol Service of Falcioni, then to the payment to Malabu's accounts in
"The cash flow was traced to the Malabu accounts in
The lawyer noted further that that
"From
"This money is withdrawn and exchanged into cash in foreign currency either personally or by order of Abubakar. In this maelstrom of money, it is worth mentioning transactions traced in documents of particular interest: from
"Cash transfers to the account of Adoke Bello, the AG in office at the time of the Resolution Agreement - RA 2011, at the
Speaking on alleged constitutional beach of trust and oath of office by officials of the government, the lawyer argued that Mr Adoke misused the privilege he had as government official.
"But what did Adoke Bello do in return for his payments? The government that will stipulate RA 2011 starts by confirming the allocation to Malabu and therefore to Etete of 100% of all concession rights for OPL 245.
"The main actors are President GLJ (
"This is in favour of IOCs instead of doing the interests of
Asset Value
On the value of the asset, the lawyer argued that for
However, he noted, the conditions of the new licence for
"For Etete on the one hand and for Adoke Bello on the other, the contractual clauses are almost irrelevant: Etete is totally disinterested, the AG at most, but only in the end, has to save appearances and - above all - has to do everything possible to silence the NNPC and DPR technical bodies that get in the way," he said.
Indicting the oil companies,
Ultimately, he said, low prices and advantageous clauses are also a big deal for Eni and
He said: "The price (which we believe to be very low), compared to the important value of the license, has in the case in question undoubtedly a very important circumstantial significance with regard to the conduct of the parties and the defendants. It is, in essence, the motive for IOCs.
"Why embark on such a complex negotiation? Why take such significant risks from a reputational point of view (TRAG 2007 and 2010 reports)? Why force all the company's procedures or, in any case, normal negotiating practices and sit down at the table with a former oil minister, convicted for money laundering, who has obtained the OPL 245 licence in at least dubious situations? Why should you deal with a company like Malabu for which, after a long time, you cannot even complete the due diligence required by internal compliance?
"Ultimately, why commit a serious crime such as international corruption? The answer can only be one: the deal was very interesting for the oil companies and a huge economic advantage. Under the FRN technical consultant's advice the asset is worth at least
Eni,
The lawyer explained that
"There are explicit emails. The offence exists because Eni and
"It is a real fraudulent simulation: apparently IOCs have no relationship with Malabu, but have dealt with Etete. They know perfectly well that the money paid will go to Etete to pay the public officials.
"Is it legitimate to pay an interposed person, knowing full well that the money will be paid in bribes, for obtaining illegal favours?
"It is not enough to pay into an escrow account formally in the government's name, knowing full well that it was a roundabout game and that the money would go to Etete and from there to corrupt public officials. IOCs should have asked the government for formal reassignment of the license. The corrupt oil minister should have revoked the license in Malabu for inoperativity or failure to pay the signature bonus. Instead they reassign the licence 100% to him."
The lawyer asserted in his submission that "the disputed conduct for which proof of guilt has been reached for all the defendants has caused serious damage to FRN, both pecuniary and non-pecuniary, image and moral damage."
According to him, the highlight of the loss include emerging damage due to the higher signature bonus that the government would have obtained if the open tender or at least by invitatio was a base already acquired 10 years earlier; as well as loss of profit for the lesser revenues that the government or NNPC obtains with the SOLE RISK licence and the conditions of RA 2011, compared to the usual PSC.
"In essence, this RA 2011 solution instead of the PSC model deprives the government or NNPC of profit oil, as all the technical consultants, including
"The FRN technical consultant Rogers in paragraph 4.12 also gives account of the technical work carried out by
"To the patrimonial damage must be added serious damage to the FRN's image and moral damage. The offence has altered the proper management of public affairs in
"The offence has altered the economic conditions of the market in terms of competition, which is, moreover, the interest protected by the rule that punishes international corruption. All the categories of damage mentioned deserve careful and precise quantification in separate civil proceedings. We therefore request a general sentence to pay damages, with damages to be settled in separate civil proceedings."
However, he noted, the
The IOCs certainly did not pay the price to lose out, he said, adding that their illicit profit and the consequent damage for
The lawyer argued further that the defendants must be ordered to confiscate the profit that constitute the profit of the offence, pursuant to Article 322 of the Criminal Code.
According to
Scandal
The Malabu OPL245 scandal is central to a corruption trial in
Like Mr Adoke, all parties in the
The Nigerian authorities have also charged
Like former
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