Govt to weigh Scaroni's future 'independent' of Enel ruling

(ANSA) - Rovigo, April 1 - The Italian government will make its decision on the future of Paolo Scaroni, the current CEO of state-controlled energy giant Eni, "independently" of a court's guilty ruling over illegal emissions at his old company, Italian electric utility Enel, Premier Matteo Renzi has said. Scaroni was waiting to find out if he would receive a renewed three-year contract from the government when a court in Rovigo on Monday sentenced him and another former Enel chief executive, Franco Tato', to three years in prison.
    The pair was also banned from holding public office for five years for causing an "environmental disaster" at a northern Italy powerplant by failing to install equipment that would reduce the plant's pollution impact, and linked this to an increase in respiratory diseases among children in the area.
    The government is pushing for new corporate bylaws at Eni and other state-controlled firms that would force board members accused of financial crimes to step down in the early phases of the multi-tiered judicial process. But attorneys say Scaroni's crime, which he denies, would not fall under that category. Scaroni also denies separate allegations that have put him under investigation for suspected involvement in bribes linked to Algerian contracts won by Saipem, an Eni subsidiary.