POLLUTING THE PROCESS

The report details a series of corruption scandals involving Eni, specifically the OPL 245 deal in Nigeria and the 'Siracusa System' in Italy, where the company is accused of bribing officials and tampering with witnesses. Simultaneously, it highlights Eni's extensive lobbying efforts in the EU to promote fossil gas as a 'bridge fuel,' arguing that such influence is incompatible with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. The document concludes by calling for a 'firewall' to end fossil fuel industry lobbying in EU policy-making, drawing parallels to the restrictions placed on the tobacco industry.

• Eni is one of the most active fossil fuel lobbyists in the EU, with its in-house lobbyists holding six European Parliament passes, more than any other oil and gas company in Brussels. Since 2014, Eni and associated pro-gas industry groups have declared spending €100 million on lobbying European officials.
• Eni and Royal Dutch Shell are on trial in Italy for their roles in the 2011 OPL 245 deal in Nigeria. Prosecutors allege that of the $1.1bn paid for the oil block, over $500m was distributed as bribes to the then-Nigerian President and other officials.
• The 'Siracusa System' refers to an alleged conspiracy by Eni managers to bribe a public prosecutor in Siracusa, Sicily, to create a fake investigation into critics of CEO Claudio Descalzi to protect him. Former prosecutor Giancarlo Longo admitted receiving €30,000 to open the fake investigation.
• Eni is accused of attempting to 'pollute the process' of judicial proceedings through witness tampering and surveillance. This includes allegations that Eni offered to re-hire former project manager Vincenzo Armanna if he watered down his testimony regarding corruption in the OPL 245 deal.
• Eni's lobbying strategy promotes fossil gas as a "bridge to a low-emissions future," but the report argues this is incompatible with the Paris Agreement. Rystad predicts Eni will invest $40bn over the next decade in oil and gas fields not yet in production, which the report states is incompatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C.
• The report argues that the fossil fuel industry uses a 'tobacco industry playbook' of misinformation and front groups to delay climate action. It recommends that EU officials institute a 'firewall' to end the industry's access to decision-making, similar to the UN Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

APA

Global Witness (2021). POLLUTING THE PROCESS. https://globalwitness.org/documents/170/Polluting_the_Process_-_March_2021.pdf

Chicago

Global Witness. POLLUTING THE PROCESS. 2021. https://globalwitness.org/documents/170/Polluting_the_Process_-_March_2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=POLLUTING THE PROCESS |date=March 2021 |url=https://globalwitness.org/documents/170/Polluting_the_Process_-_March_2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitness2021polluting, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{POLLUTING THE PROCESS}}, institution = {Global Witness}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://globalwitness.org/documents/170/Polluting_the_Process_-_March_2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }