Italy Court Finds Saipem Guilty In Algeria Graft Case, Acquits Eni

An Italian court found oil services group Saipem and a former CEO guilty of corruption in a long-running trial over bribes in Algeria but acquitted oil major Eni.

In a court ruling on Sept. 19, Milan judges sentenced one-time Saipem CEO Pietro Tali to four years and nine months in prison and seized 197.9 million euros (US$231 million) from the company. Saipem was also fined 400,000 euros ($467,235).

In the same ruling, the court acquitted Eni, its former CEO Paolo Scaroni and its current upstream head Antonio Vella.

Under Italian law, companies are responsible for the actions of their managers and can be fined if found guilty.