Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete, might be facing yet another series of criminal charges following indications from Italian authorities to put him on trial for his involvement in the $1.1 billion Malabu oil deal.

The development comes weeks after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) slammed a nine-count charge against Etete alongside former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke as well as seven others for allegedly transferring $801.540 million from the Federal Government’s escrow account.

The Italian prosecutors filed the notice in a Milan court last week, indicating their intention to sue Etete, Shell, Eni as well as ten (10) other individuals, for their involvement in the oil deal.

Among the defendants is a man identified as Chukwuemeka Obi, who is accused of using his firm EVP, to lay claim to about $110 million of the $1.1 billion paid by Shell and Eni for OPL 245, Nigeria’s richest oil block.

Others found culpable by Italian authorities include: DescaJzi Claudio, the CEO of Eni; his predecessor, Paolo Scaroni; Roberto Casula, Armanna Vincenzo, Antonio Pagano, Ednan Agaev, Luigi Bisignani and Falcioni Gianfranco.

As part of their findings, Italian prosecutors said officials of Italian oil giant, Eni, may have received $50 million bribe from the $1.1 billion the company and Shell paid into a Nigerian government account in 2011.

The charges come months after Nigeria’s House of Representatives investigated alleged shady deals in the award of oil blocs involving Malabu Oil and Gas Limited.

OPL 245, considered the richest in Africa, is estimated to contain about 9 billion barrels of crude.

The licence was awarded during the regime of a former military dictator, Sani Abacha, under the supervision of then Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete. (TV360 Nigeria)

Update news