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April 10th, 2017:

Shell rocked by corruption claims after negotiating with money launderer during £1bn Nigerian oil field purchase


Current chief executive Ben Van Beurden has also been caught up in the investigation. He was not in position when the deal was complete, but after Shell’s Hague offices were raided in February last year, Dutch authorities wire-tapped a call between Van Beurden and then chief financial officer Simon Henry in which Van Beurden allegedly urged Henry not to disclose the raid to shareholders.

Wiretap: After Shell’s headquarters in the Hague were raided in February last year, ceo  Ben Van Beurden urged chief financial officer Simon Henry not to disclose the raid to shareholders

By Sabah Meddings For The Daily Mail

Shell was last night accused of taking part in ‘one of the worst corruption scandals the industry has ever seen’ after buying an oil field in Nigeria.

The Anglo-Dutch giant joined forces with Italian rival Eni to acquire the site off the coast of the West African country for £1billion – giving it access to 9bn barrels of oil, worth nearly half a trillion dollars at today’s prices. But leaked documents suggest it knew much of this cash would fall into the hands of a convicted money launderer and be used to bribe government officials. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Watchdogs allege Shell knew about Nigeria oil kickbacks

Corruption watchdogs alleged Monday that Shell executives knew that money earmarked for a controversial oil deal was being used to bribe senior Nigerian officials, a claim rebuffed by the petroleum giant.

The allegations by Global Witness and Finance Uncovered refer to the 2011 purchase by oil giants Shell and Eni of OPL245, an offshore oil block estimated to hold 9 billion barrels of crude, for $1.3 billion.

The deal saw the Nigerian government act as an intermediary between the oil majors and Malabu Oil and Gas, a Nigerian company allegedly controlled by former petroleum minister Dan Etete. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

New evidence in Nigeria Corruption Probe: Shell Bosses bribed the oil-minister

Published: Monday, 10 April 2017 18:54

When Shell was buying the OPL 245 oil field in Nigeria for US$1.3 billion, its executives knew that 1.1 billion will land in the pocket of former petroleum minister and convicted money launderer, Dan Etete, media reported Monday.

The BBC claims to have seen emails obtained by anti-corruption charities, Global Witness and Finance Uncovered, which say that Shell representatives were negotiating with Etete for a year before the deal was finalized. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Leaked emails increase pressure on Shell over Nigerian oil deal

A trove of internal Shell emails seen by the Financial Times and dated between 2008 and 2010 leave no doubt that senior people within the company knew that most of the $1.3bn paid together with Eni for OPL 245 was destined for Malabu, and that much of the money would end up with Mr Etete and associates. Shell had previously said only that the money was paid to a Nigerian government escrow account.

In the intercepted phone call with Mr Henry, Mr van Beurden acknowledged Shell’s own investigation uncovered “unhelpful” and “stupid” email exchanges among former UK intelligence agents hired by the company to help negotiate the OPL 245 deal. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Recent Revelations About Shell And Nigeria Are “Utterly Indefensible”, Says Development Committee Chair

James Ball: BuzzFeed Special Correspondent: 10 March 2017 

The chair of parliament’s international development committee has called for the government to make clear what it is doing to investigate a $1.3 billion oil deal signed by Shell and Italian oil company ENI in Nigeria.

The call comes after BuzzFeed News and the Italian newspaper Il Sore 24 Ore published “Shell Shocks”, a cache of emails and court documents revealing that Shell top executives signed off on a deal with full knowledge that most of the money would go to Malabu, a company connected to a former Nigerian oil minister, Dan Etete. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Recorded call reveals Shell worried Nigerian oil deal could lead to U.S. probe

Top executives at Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) last year were worried that a controversial Nigerian oil deal may have violated an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department and would prompt an investigation, according to a recorded phone call between CEO Ben van Beurden and Simon Henry, the company’s CFO at the time.

In the call, van Beurden said he was worried that Shell’s own investigators had discovered internal emails that could cast the company in a negative light and widen the investigation by drawing in U.S. authorities; the call was recorded and has now been made public. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Knew Of Bribe Payments To Nigerian Official, Global Witness Report Alleges

A recent publication of leaked emails has found evidence that Shell knowingly bribed ministers in the Nigerian government. Global Witness, an anti-corruption NGO, described the episode as “one of the worst corruption scandals in the history of the oil industry”.

The affair relates to OLP 245, an offshore oilfield in Nigerian waters that is estimated to hold nine billion barrels of oil, valued at over half a trillion dollars at current prices. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell and the money-launderer: Damning emails of Nigerian deal

BY LUCY TOBIN: 10 April 2017

Shell was today embroiled in a bribery scandal amid allegations that the oil giant knew money paid to the Nigerian government for a $1.3 billion (£1.1 billion) project would go to a convicted money-launderer and potentially pay political bribes.

The claims surround a deal made by Shell and a former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete, whose company Malabu bought the nine-billion-barrel OPL 245 field off the coast of the African country for a paltry $2 million while he was in his government post. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Recording Puts Shell’s Nigerian Oil Deal Under a Harsh Light

The investigators were “quite forceful and brusque” and “rattled a few people,” Mr. van Beurden told the finance chief at the time, Simon Henry, when Mr. Henry returned his call. But Mr. van Beurden said he was also worried about something else: Shell’s own investigators had discovered internal emails that could cast the company in an even more negative light and widen the investigation by drawing in the United States law enforcement authorities. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Eni, Shell deny wrongdoing in Nigeria after allegations of improper payment

Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Eni (ENI.MI) reiterated on Monday that neither they nor their personnel had been involved in any wrongdoing in Nigeria, including improper payments to Nigerian officials.

The comments follow media reports alleging how hundreds of millions of dollars from the two companies were used for illicit payments.

A joint investigation by BuzzFeed News and Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on Sunday claims to show transactions worth $1.3 billion made in 2010-2011 that Shell and Eni paid to acquire an exploration licence for an offshore oil block known as OPL 245. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell move ‘could be in breach of international law’

Environmental groups claim Shell’s plans to decommission one of the North Sea’s most iconic fields could breach international law.

The oil giant lodged plans to decommission the Brent field with the UK government in February.

It wants to leave the legs of three of the platforms in place rather than removing them, which Shell has described as the safest option.

Environmentalists say the plans are not detailed enough to justify the move. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell corruption probe: New evidence on oil payments

The BBC has seen evidence that top executives at Shell knew money paid to the Nigerian government for a vast oil field would be passed to a convicted money-launderer.

It also had reason to believe that money would be used to pay political bribes.

The deal was concluded while Shell was operating under a probation order for a separate corruption case in Nigeria.

Shell said it did not believe its employees acted illegally.

OPL 245 is an oilfield off the coast of Nigeria whose estimated nine billion barrels of oil are worth nearly half a trillion dollars at today’s prices. Shell has been active in Nigeria for nearly 60 years and was keen to acquire the field. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.