Petroleum Africa
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Thursday, August 8, 2013
Italian authorities have arrested a former manager of oil service firm Saipem who is allegedly at the center of a bribery probe that revolves around gas contracts awarded in Algeria.
Pietro Varone, the former head of Saipem’s engineering division, was arrested on July 28. He was just one of a number of senior managers employed by Saipem and ENI, who owns a stake in the service firm, to resign at the end of 2012 as a result of the bribery probe.
According to the allegations, Saipem paid bribes to win a series of contracts from 2007 to 2010 worth around $10.6 billion.
A Reuters report said that the Varone arrest warrant also called for the arrest of Algerian native Farid Noureddine Bedjaoui. Italian authorities are accusing Bedjaoui of channeling nearly €198 million in bribes from Saipem to officials in Algeria via a company called Pearl Partners Ltd.
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