The U.S. SEC has closed its investigation into Italian oil major Eni over the company’s activity in Nigeria and the Congo without recommending further action, Eni has said.
“Based on the information currently available to the SEC, it is otherwise closing its pending investigation of Eni (over OPL 245 and Congo) without recommending further enforcement action,” Eni said in a statement.
Eni, whose ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is currently on trial in Italy over allegations it bought Nigerian oilfield OPL 245 in 2011 knowing most of the $1.3bn price would go to agents and middlemen in bribes.
It is also under investigation by Milan prosecutors for alleged corruption in the Congo Republic. The SEC’s decision comes days after it said Eni had agreed to settle charges on allegedly breaching corruption accounting rules over “improper” payments by a former unit in Algeria.