An appeal by Shell and four of its former managers to stop a corruption trial in Nigeria has been thrown out by Italy’s supreme court.
The trial initially set to begin March 5 in a Milan court, was shifted to May 14 and later transferred to another chamber.
The case which has been ongoing for a long time revolves around the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria’s Oil Prospecting Licence 245, an offshore oilfield, for about 1.3 billion dollars.
A subsequent hearing is scheduled for June 20 and the Milan court says it will assess requests from third parties, including a succession of international non-profit organisations, to join the case.
The appeal at the instance of Shell and four of its former managers citing procedural errors were targeted at reversing the trial to the preliminary hearing stage.
Image Credit: The Guardian Nigeria
