Eni chief executive says he has zero tolerance for bribery
Paolo Scaroni says no involvement in Algeria bribery scandal
15 February, 16:57
(ANSA) - Rome, February 15 - Paolo Scaroni, chief executive
officer of Italian energy giant Eni, on Friday denied any
involvement in a bribery scandal related to energy contracts in
Algeria.And he insisted it is possible to do business "anywhere in the world" without paying bribes.
Earlier this month, Scaroni was placed under investigation for suspected international corruption as part of a probe into the Algerian contracts of an Eni subsidiary.
"Neither Eni nor I have any involvement in the practices under investigation," Scaroni said during a conference call to discuss the company's 2012 earnings.
"It's perfectly possible to do business anywhere in the world without paying bribes," he said, adding his company has zero tolerance for bribery.
Further, if Eni found a regime where bribes were essential, the company would not do business there, said Scaroni.
"Our reputation has always been a major driver of our growth," he added.
"The value this creates for Eni has made it one of the largest companies in our industry". His comments stand in contrast with remarks made Thursday by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi.
On the campaign trail, Berlusconi suggested that companies budgeted for bribes as a standard practice to land international contracts.
He later denied making those comments.
Investigators are looking into an alleged 200-million-euro backhander given in exchange for contracts for Eni subsidiary Saipem, Europe's largest oil contractor by market value.
Judicial sources claim Scaroni met with an intermediary for a Hong Kong company charged with collecting the bribes on behalf of Algerian officials.
Earlier in the day, Eni posted a net profit of 7.79 billion euros for the full year 2012, a 13.5% increase over the previous year.
Net profit in the final quarter stood at 1.46 billion euros.
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