MILAN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Eni Chief Executive
Claudio Descalzi should be acquitted of corruption in a legal
case concerning the purchase of an oilfield in Nigeria since
there is no evidence to support the charges, Descalzi's lawyer
told a Milan court on Wednesday.
Speaking in the court hearing, Paola Severino said the
prosecutors' case against Descalzi consisted simply of
"suggestive elements" of no criminal significance that were
aimed at papering over a "lack of evidence."
She called for the Eni CEO to be unreservedly acquitted
since there was no case to answer.
Descalzi is one of 13 people charged with international
corruption over a deal to buy one of Nigeria's biggest oilfields
in 2011. Eni and oil group Shell are also accused of
corruption.
Eni and Shell and the managers involved, including Descalzi,
have all denied any wrongdoing.
In one of the oil industry's biggest potential scandals,
Italian prosecutors allege Eni and Shell acquired the Nigerian
offshore oilfield, knowing most of the $1.3 billion purchase
price would go to politicians and middlemen in bribes.
Severino said Descalzi had always acted "scrupulously" and
had always been opposed to any action that did not comply with
the rules.
In July, Milan prosecutors asked for a jail sentence of
eight years for Descalzi.
(Reporting by Alfredo Faieta and Emilio Parodi, writing by
Stephen Jewkes. Editing by Jane Merriman)
