An investigative report by Italian prosecutors
alleged that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan,
former Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison-
Madueke, former Attorney Generals
Mohammed Adoke and Bayo Ojo, former
Minister of Defense and ex-National Security
Adviser, Aliyu Gusau as well as numerous other
senior government officials shared hundreds of
millions of dollars.
In an indictment obtained by SR, Italian
prosecutors alleged that Jonathan and some
officials of his government as well as top
corporate officials of int'l oil firms, Eni and
Shell, met severally between 2010 and 2011 to
seal the fraudulent Malabu deal and split a
massive loot running into hundreds of millions
between Nigerian government and public
interests as well as corporate officials.
The indictment shows that former Abacha-era
Minister, Dauzia Loya Etete, better known as
"Dan Etete" and his Malabu company were at
the center of the scam that involved the sale of
an oil bloc named OPL 245 he illicitly acquired
in 1998. According to Italian prosecutors, Mr.
Etete had engaged Zubelum Chukwuemeka Obi
to source for buyers of the oil bloc.
Subsequently, Italian oil giant, Eni, the parent
of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC)
and Royal Dutch Shell, contracted to acquire
100 percent of the 245 oil block for a deal that
totaled $1.3 billion. However, Italian
prosecutors are alleging that much of the funds
was set aside for fraudulent payments to Mr.
Jonathan and other government officials as well
as corporate executives working for Eni and
Shell.
Apart from naming numerous officials of the
global oil firms, the indictment also fingered
Mr. Jonathan, Mr. Etete, Mrs. Alison-Madueke,
Mr. Adoke, former NSA Gusau, Mr. Obi, Mr.
Ojo, and Alhaji Abubakar as beneficiaries from
the Malabu fraud.
Among the corporate players named in the
Malabu deal are Paolo Scaroni, Eni’s Chief
Executive Officer and Managing Director, and
Claudio Descalzi, the Managing Director of Eni’s
Exploration and Production Division since July
2008. The indictment states that Mr. Scaroni
“agreed to intermediation by Obi,” and was
constantly informed by Mr. Descalzi of the
progress of developments in the deal. In
addition, he and Mr. Descalzi met then
President Jonathan in person twice, “both
during the finalization of the agreements (13
August 2010) and at the final stage, during an
electoral campaign rally in Nigeria on 22
February 2011.”
According to the indictment, Mr. Descalzi
maintained steady contact with Mr. Obi and
two key Eni employees in Nigeria, Roberto
Casula and Vincenzo Armanna, who helped
coordinate a deal in which Mr. Jonathan and
other senior officials of his government would
receive illegal commissions in exchange for
approving the Malabu oil deal. Mr. Descalzi
also coordinated with his Shell counterpart,
Malcolm Brinded, on the $1.3 billion price tag
for the oil block.
Other Eni and Shell officials also attended
meetings with President Jonathan in Abuja on
August 13, 2010 regarding the OPL245 deal and,
again, on February 22, 2011. In addition, the
indictment states that the two oil companies’
executives attended meetings from November
18 to 25, 2010, at Mr. Adoke’s offices in Abuja.
Apart from Mr. Adoke, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar
also known as "AAA Oil" was also present at the
meetings during which, according to Italian
prosecutors, “the financial conditions of the
deal (1.3 billion) were agreed.”
The firms’ executives also met with Mr. Dan
Etete in Milan, Italy from November 30 to
December 1, 2010 and finalized issues “relating
to the commissions.” Mr. Armanna, the Senior
Advisor of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd and
as Eni Vice President for upstream sub-Saharan
activities, reportedly played a major role in the
scam. The indictment accuses him of
maintaining contact with Mr. Obi and Mr. Etete,
even though he was “fully aware of the
destination of most of the sums paid by Eni to
the political sponsors of the operation” and that
some executives of Eni and Shell, himself
included, were to receive “significant sums”
from the deal. He is also accused of
coordinating the fraudulent deal with his Shell
counterpart, Peter Robinson, and hosting
meetings at his residence in Nigeria with Shell
executives. Mr. Armanna reportedly
“supervised the Eni negotiating team's drafting
of the ‘resolution agreements.’” In addition, he
met with Mr. Adoke numerous times to discuss
the illicit transfers.
Italian prosecutors accuse Mr. Armanna of
facilitating the Nigerian government’s active
role in the Malabu deal, including the payment
“of €1,092,040,000 intended for Etete, in
addition to the ‘signature bonus’ of
$207,960,000.” The indictment states that he
coordinated with Gianfranco Falcioni and Bayo
Ojo to transfer funds paid by Eni to the account
of the Nigerian government at JP Morgan Chase
London. As part of his reward, Mr. Armanna
“subsequently received from Bayo Ojo the sum
of €917,952 with the false payment reference of
‘Armanna inheritance.’”
The indictment states that, on October 30, 2010,
Ciro Antonio Pagano, the NAE’s Managing
Director, signed his firm’s offer to Raffeisen
Bank, Obi's advisor, for the company’s 100%
acquisition of Malabu’s “participating interest”
in OPL 245. The payments comprised
$207,960,000 to the Nigerian government as the
signature bonus and $1,053,000,000 directly to
Malabu.
The indictment names Mr. Obi as shareholder
in the company Energy Venture Partners Ltd
(EVP), and as the person “assigned by Etete to
find a buyer for block 245.” Italian prosecutors
allege that Mr. Obi agreed with Etete that the
“so-called ‘excess price’ – between the sum that
Eni/NAE was undertaking to pay and the
amount accepted by Etete, would be withheld
by Obi, with the expectation that the
aforementioned premium would be distributed
among Mr. Obi, his sponsors, Di Nardo and
Bisignani, Eni and Shell executives and
“Nigerian government officials, in particular
the Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-
Madueke.”
According to the indictment, Mr. Obi having
met several times with Attorney General Adoke,
and maintained direct relations with the AGF as
well as with “persons connected to him,
specifically Roland Ewubare and Oghogo
Akpata.” He also maintained relations with Ms.
Alison-Madueke and NSA Gusau, said the
indictment.
The document also accuses Ednan Tofik Ogly
Agaev of agreeing to a fee of 6% for his work as
intermediary between Mr. Etete and Shell. It
said Mr. Agaev, a Russian and former MI6
operative, subsequently worked for Shell as
Senior Business Advisor and Strategic
Investment Advisor. He is accused of meeting
NSA Aliyu Gusau “on a number of occasions
and having obtained information from him on
the expectations of President Jonathan and
other members of the government.”
The document describes Mr. Etete as “the
fraudulent holder of the OPL245 exploration
license since 1998.” He is also accused of
“having received authorization from Minister
of Petroleum Alison-Madueke to dispose of
100% of OPL245, following the decision of
President Jonathan.” In addition, he “conducted
confidential negotiations with Aliyu Abubakar,
who acted as an agent of Goodluck Jonathan,”
and “accepted, under government pressure, the
total sum of $1.3 billion, established by Eni and
Shell.”
Italian prosecutors also reported that Mr. Etete
“received $801.5 million from the Nigerian
government under the FGN Resolution
Agreement, and having transferred to
Abubakar Aliyu, directly or through companies
attributable to him, funds of approximately
$520 million, intended to be paid to President
Jonathan, members of the government and
other Nigerian government officials.”
The indictment also states that the Malabu deal
involved an agreement that Dan Etete would
use much of the funds from the sale of the oil
bloc “for his own benefit and that of a large
number of other beneficiaries to purchase
property, aeroplanes, armored cars, etc.).”
The indictment added that “President Goodluck
Jonathan and other members of the Nigerian
government in office at the time, including Mrs.
Alison-Madueke, Attorney General Muhammed
Bello Adoke, National Security Advisor Aliyu
Gusau, a member of the House of
Representatives, Umar Bature, former Senator
Ikechukwu Obiorah, and “holders of influence
over President Jonathan and other members of
the government” received huge payoffs from
the Malabu deal.
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