Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Italy · 2021
Milan court acquits Eni and Shell in Nigeria corruption case
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
A court in Milan acquitted Eni and Shell in a Nigeria corruption case in March 2021. The sources reviewed do not give the grounds of the verdict or any amounts involved.
What?
A court in Milan acquitted Eni and Shell in a Nigeria corruption case. Seychelles News Agency
Where?
Milan, Italy (court); Nigeria (subject of the case) Seychelles News Agency
When?
March 2021 Seychelles News Agency
Who?
Gained
- Eni — Acquittal in the Nigeria corruption case Seychelles News Agency
- Shell — Acquittal in the Nigeria corruption case Seychelles News Agency
Lost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Corruption case heard in an Italian court. Seychelles News Agency
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The Seychelles News Agency reported that an Italian court acquitted Eni and Shell in a Nigeria corruption case.
The acquittal was in Milan in March 2021, according to the same report.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2021-03Defendant wonEni and Shell Nigeria corruption caseCourt in Milan (Italy) · Criminal · Not named in the sources reviewed → Eni and Shell
The Milan court acquitted Eni and Shell in March 2021, per the Seychelles News Agency. Seychelles News Agency
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not give the grounds of the acquittal, the individuals involved, or whether the decision was appealed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Italy court acquits Eni, Shell in Nigeria corruption caseSeychelles News Agency · 2021-03
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Niger Delta oil spills and sabotage attribution (Shell, Eni) Nigeria · 2008–2022
- Plant-for-the-Planet: 13.6 billion trees Germany / Global · 2011–2024
- Alliance to End Plastic Waste and Renew Oceans (Ganges) India · 2019–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Founding member; named among five members compared by Unearthed
- BP and Eni do not declare gas flared at Iraq's Rumaila field, citing non-operator status Iraq · 2021–2022
- Eni (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Non-operator; does not declare Rumaila gas flaring
- Brazil REDD+ forest credits: Suruí project suspended; 2024 Amazonas concessions probed Brazil · 2013–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: minority investor in Carbonext
- Brazil: Operation Greenwashing Brazil · 2024–2025
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Reported to hold a stake in Carbonext
- COP28 decision promoted carbon capture and left room for transition fuels United Arab Emirates · 2023
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Member of the Global CCS Institute
- Cordillera Azul National Park carbon project Peru · 2008–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Credit buyer
- Corporate suits against Greenpeace (TotalEnergies, Shell, Resolute) France, United Kingdom, United States · 2019–2024
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Claimant against Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International
- Court cancels Shell's Wild Coast seismic exploration rights South Africa · 2022–2024
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Holder of the seismic exploration rights
- Edelman: API contract, Energy Citizens and the COP30 contract United States · 2005–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Client in 2025 per the record
- Eni bought Zambian forest credits as a community received about EUR 50,000 Zambia · 2021–2023
- Eni (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Acquired about 3.1 million credits from the Luangwa community forests
- Germany rejects 215,000 carbon credits from Chinese oil-sector projects Germany · 2024
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Named among companies that used the credits, as reported
- Gorgon LNG carbon storage fell short; gap closed with credits Australia · 2006
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Gorgon partner (IEEFA)
- Groningen gas field Netherlands · date not stated
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Claimant in arbitration against the Netherlands
- Hill & Knowlton and Edelman: PR for fossil fuel clients and climate summits Egypt · 2005–2025
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: agency client
- Hill & Knowlton, the Frank Statement and the TIRC United States · 1953–2022
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Client at the time of COP27
- Italy fined Eni 5 million euros over ads calling Diesel+ green Italy · 2020
- Eni (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: fined over Diesel+ advertising
- Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine; Wiwa v Shell Nigeria · 1958–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Operator through SPDC; defendant in Wiwa v Shell and the Dutch case; sold SPDC in 2025
- Mozambique LNG environmental assessment (ERM) Mozambique · 2014–2024
- Eni (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Developer for whom the assessment was prepared
- Norway Longship and Northern Lights CCS; Sleipner Norway · 1991–2025
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Northern Lights partner
- Ogoniland and Bodo spills clean-up (SPDC, HYPREP) Nigeria · 1958–2026
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Parent of SPDC; halted Ogoniland production in 1993; sold SPDC to Renaissance in March 2025
- Producers funded 90% of EDF's 2013 methane study, HPPR reported United States · 2013
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Producer funder of the study
- Quest CCS (Shell, Alberta) Canada · 2015–2020
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Facility owner
- Rainforest credits investigation Global · 2009–2023
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Named credit buyer
- Salem tanker Senegal (offshore) · 1979–1985
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Cargo owner (Shell International Petroleum); claimant against cargo underwriters
- Shell and Greenpeace settle Penguins FPSO case; Greenpeace pays RNLI £300,000 United Kingdom · 2023–2024
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Claimant
- Shell buys Australian carbon-farming firm Select Carbon in August 2020 Australia · 2020–2023
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: acquirer of Select Carbon
- Shell nature-based solutions and carbon-neutral driving ads Netherlands · 2019–2023
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Fuel seller; advertiser of carbon-neutral driving; author of the Sky 1.5 scenario
- Shell Nigeria pipeline spill ruling (Hague Court of Appeal, 2021) Nigeria · 2021–2022
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Parent group of Shell Nigeria
- Shell reserves overstatement case: investors settle for $352.6 million United States · 2006
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: company whose reserves were restated
- Shell Rocky Mountain Arsenal insurance case United States · 1987–2010
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: Policyholder; co-payer of Arsenal cleanup
- Shell's 1.5C scenario relied on 700 million hectares of new forest Global · 2019–2021
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: author of the Sky 1.5 scenario; offered carbon-neutral driving
- Shell's 2022 stake in Brazilian REDD+ developer Carbonext Brazil · 2022
- Shell (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: bought a minority stake in Carbonext in 2022
- UK agreed up to £21.7bn over 25 years for two CCS clusters United Kingdom · 2024
- Eni (Company) — here: Defendant, acquitted; there: named as a leading company behind the clusters