Economy

US Seeks Reopening Nigeria’s Controversial OPL 245 Case Against Shell, Eni

Published

2 years ago

24/05/2024

By Adedapo Adesanya

The United States is pushing for the reopening of an investigation against multinational oil companies Shell and Eni in Nigeria regarding their 2011 purchase of the rights to the controversial Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245.

OPL 245 is regarded as one of Nigeria’s most lucrative oilfields and has seen a fierce battle over it and it appears the issue might not be over as the US House of Representatives through the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) wants to stir the waters again.

In a petition to Mr Merrick Garland, Attorney General of the US, the lower house is urging the reopening of the investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The House stated that “available evidence implicates both companies in a scheme that resulted in the payment of $1.1 billion in bribes to Nigerian government officials, including then-President Goodluck Jonathan”.

“Shell and Eni, both registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continue to profit from the deal in violation of the FCPA,” read the letter dated May 8, 2024 and signed by Representative Maxine Waters of the Committee on Financial Services, and Representative Joyce Beatty of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions

The House maintained, in the letter, that “allegations of corruption surrounding OPL 245 began in 1998, when Dan Etete, a convicted money launderer and Nigeria’s former Oil Minister during the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha, awarded the OPL 245 license to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company whose principal shareholders were revealed to be Etete himself and the son of General Abacha”.

The rights to OPL 245, according to the petition from Congress, continued to be marred with corruption and in 2000, Malabu’s share registry was changed to reflect a 505 shareholding by Pecos Energy, a company secretly controlled by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo and his Vice President, Mr Atiku Abubakar.

The letter stated that Malabu’s license was revoked in 2001 but restored in 2006, with evidence suggesting that bribes were paid to then-Attorney General, Mr Bayo Ojo, who played a key role in that decision.

The House alleged that Shell and Eni then purchased the license from Malabu in 2011 for $1.3 billion with the knowledge that a portion of the proceeds would be used to bribe numerous Nigerian officials. It added that hundreds of millions of Dollars passed through various Nigerian shell companies linked to Mr Aliyu Abubakar, a scandalous businessman.

“Then-President Goodluck Jonathan was said to have pocketed some $200 million from the sale, and the former Attorney General involved in the 2006 reinstatement of Malabu’s license also purportedly received a sizeable payout

“Other funds would later be traced to the purchase of real estate in the US, Dubai, Brazil, and Switzerland, as well as luxury vehicles and gems,” the House petition also read.

In further urging the re-opening of the case, the House stated that the harm to the Nigerian people would continue to be felt beyond the immediate payment of bribes, with experts alleging that the country lost $6 billion in estimated future revenue – double the size of Nigeria’s annual health and education budget.

According to the petition, in 2013, there was sufficient evidence for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the money laundering investigation into the deal, which was followed by an FCPA investigation. In 2019, the DOJ notified Eni that the US had closed the inquiries in light of Italy’s prosecution of the case, yet it noted that the file could be reopened if circumstances changed.

The House noted that Shell and Eni were subsequently acquitted by the Italian court yet the companies “continue to profit from their exploitation of the OPL 245 deal.”

“The United States has consistently demonstrated global leadership in the fight against foreign bribery, with the FCPA swerving as model legislation for countries around the world.

“The reopening of the case would further illustrate the US commitment “to aggressively pursue foreign bribery cases,” as stated in the U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption and reaffirm its pledge to fully implement the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

“We urge you to leverage this portent anti-corruption law to address the issues in the case and to send a powerful message that the United States stands vigilant in its pursuit of corporate crime around the globe,” the House petition to the Attorney General further read.

Economy

Xenergi in Talks to Acquire 51% Stake in Premier Paints

Published

9 hours ago

17/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.

Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.

Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.

The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.

At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.

“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.

“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.

Economy

Naira Trades Flat Across FX Market Windows as CBN Moves to Ease Pressure

Published

12 hours ago

17/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.

In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.

Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.

The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.

FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.

Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).

On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.

As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.

Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.

On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Stock Investors’ Portfolios Swell N14bn as Index Rises 0.01%

Published

12 hours ago

17/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.

Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.

Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.

Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.

During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.

Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.

Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.