Italy’s Supreme Court on Thursday cleared two Milan prosecutors. They were accused of not sharing documents that could have helped Italian energy company Eni in a major international corruption case tied to Nigeria’s OPL 245 oil block.
The Court of Cassation, which is Italy’s highest court, overturned an earlier decision. It cleared prosecutors Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, stating that “the offence does not exist,” according to Reuters.
This ruling ends a legal battle that started from the prosecution of Eni, Shell, and several individuals over the acquisition of OPL 245. This offshore oil block in Nigeria was bought in a deal worth about $1.3 billion.
Prosecutors claimed that Eni and Shell executives knew that a large part of the $1.1 billion they paid into an escrow account controlled by Nigeria would go to bribes.
The oil companies always denied any wrongdoing before they were acquitted.
In Nigeria, former Attorney-General Mohammed Adoke, who helped broker the deal, was cleared of charges linked to the Malabu case in April 2024. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused him of illegally benefiting from the Malabu deal he arranged as AGF in 2011. This agreement was set to transfer ownership of OPL 245 to Shell and Eni after a long dispute over the asset.
The court found Mr Adoke not guilty in 2024 due to the EFCC’s failure to provide proof for its case.
In March 2021, a Milan court had acquitted Eni, Shell, and all other defendants in what was called the oil industry’s biggest corruption trial. Prosecutors argued that a significant amount of the money paid for the oilfield was diverted as bribes to Nigerian officials and middlemen.
The case against Mr De Pasquale and Mr Spadaro focused on claims that they did not file documents that could have helped the defence during the OPL 245 trial.
The court’s decision on Thursday came nearly two years after an Italian court in Brescia had convicted De Pasquale and Spadaro in 2024. Both prosecutors received an eight-month suspended sentence for withholding documents that could have aided Shell and Eni's defence, which led to their eventual acquittal.
Shell, Eni, and their managers were found not guilty in the Malabu case by a Milan court in March 2021.
After Thursday’s verdict, Massimo Di Noia, one of the prosecutors’ lawyers, said, “My colleague Fabio Federico and I are truly happy. This ruling brings justice after many years of suffering.” He noted that the prosecutor general before the Court of Cassation also called for a full acquittal.
The latest ruling reverses an October 2024 decision by a Brescia court. That court had upheld the eight-month sentence against the two prosecutors, stating they failed to disclose documents that could have helped the defence.
The investigation into the prosecutors started around five years ago.
During the appeal in Brescia, Mr Spadaro denied the claims, saying, “there was no refusal, there was no omission” and insisted that they acted “according to conscience and the law.”
The Milan court that acquitted Eni and Shell in 2021 criticized the prosecution for not including a video from a former Eni lawyer in the trial documents, which was seen as important for the case.
In Italy’s judicial system, the Brescia court handles cases involving judges and prosecutors from the nearby city of Milan.
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