Business
New disclosure shows spreading Eni bribery probe
By FCPA ,, September 11, 2017
Sep 13, 2017 - 1:19:08 PM

An SEC filing last week by a giant Italian oil company showed how a corruption investigation has grown, starting three years ago in Nigeria but spreading now to include Algeria, Congo, Kazakhstan and Kuwait.

Eni SpA first disclosed potential FCPA-related violations in an SEC filing in September 2014. The company's Form 6-K (Report of Foreign Issuer) disclosed “alleged international corruption” related to the acquisition of offshore Block OPL 245 in Nigeria.

But Eni’s disclosure last week in a new Form 6-K filed with the SEC on September 7 revealed how the FCPA-related investigation has expanded and spread over the past three years.

2014 Disclosure:

0 subsidiaries named
1 country involved
3 government agencies involved
1 industry involved

2017 Disclosure:

5 subsidiaries named
5 countries involved
6 government agencies involved
2 industries involved

This is a small sample of the information Eni included in the new 2,700-word disclosure about the FCPA-related investigation.

The original 2014 disclosure was 247 words.

The Italian government controls about a third of Eni. The company, considered an oil and gas "super major," operates in 73 countries with 33,000 employees.

Eni SpA trades on the NYSE under the symbol E.