An Italian court has sentenced two Milan prosecutors, Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, to eight months imprisonment for concealing evidence in an alleged corruption case involving a $1.3 billion oilfield in Nigeria.

The court found the duo guilty after it was established that they failed to file documents that could have supported Eni’s defense in the trial.

Regarded as one of the energy industry’s most significant corruption trials, the case which involves Eni and Shell centered around the $1.3 billion acquisition of a Nigerian oilfield.

In 2020, the Nigerian government filed a case against Shell/SNUD and Eni asking for compensation in the sum of $1.3 billion over an Oil Prospecting License 245, also known as OPL 245.

The case which had dragged on for over a decade came to a halt when the Ministry of Justice withdrew its petition in an Italian Court in March 2024.

Meanwhile, an international Court in Italy had already declared Shell and its affiliate partners not guilty on all counts.

Nigeria also decided to “irrevocably” suspend any future legal claims in Italy against Eni, its affiliates, as well as present and former officers concerning rights related to the field.

Meanwhile, delivering judgement on the refusal of the prosecutors to tender evidence, the court stated that De Pasquale and Spadaro had omitted key evidence, including a video from a former Eni external lawyer that could have been favourable to the defence.

The court sitting in Brescia and has jurisdiction over judicial matters in Milan had listened to the argument of the prosecutors who accused De Pasquale and Spadaro of withholding evidence that could have influenced the outcome of the Eni-Shell trial, thereby infringing on the defendants’ rights.

Responding to the charges, the prosecutors’ lawyer sought a full acquittal, arguing that no explicit rule mandated the filing of documents by prosecutors in such cases.

In March 2021, a Milan court acquitted Eni, Shell, and all other defendants, despite criticisms of the prosecutors’ conduct.

Judges ruled that the two prosecutors had a legal duty to submit evidence that might have aided the defense. The lawyer did not offer immediate comments following the conviction.

Afterward, the Brescia court sentenced the duo to eight-month jail term as requested by the prosecutors.

Oil marketers in Nigeria have alleged that the Dangote 650,000 barrels per day Lagos-based refinery has been snubbing them on their demand to directly lift its Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol.

They hinted that the development is a setback on their efforts at making fuel sell cheaper across filling stations in the country.

The President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi and the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry assured that if they are allowed to directly lift petrol from Dangote Refinery, it would make the product sell lesser.

Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited announced that it is quitting its role as sole off-taker of Dangote Petrol, thus forcing oil marketers and Nigerians to be in a waiting state.

Speaking on the development, Maigandi said all efforts put forward by IPMAN to meet with Dangote Refinery’s management have not yielded results and that messages sent to the refinery for direct lifting of its petrol were not replied to.

As of Monday this week, the oil marketers said they have not been able to have any of their proposed meetings with Dangote Refinery and neither has any feedback been given by Dangote Refinery on direct sales of its fuel.

They said it was difficult for them to make comments on the price of Dangote Petrol since they have not been able to buy it directly.

Notwithstanding, they assured that there would be a reduction in the price of petrol which currently goes between N950 and N1,200 per liter if Dangote Refinery agrees to sell the product directly to them.

Maigandi, while describing the expected reduction in the price of PMS as “small”, noted that NNPCL sold petrol to oil marketers at N840 and N870 per liter depending on the location, adding that “we sell at N950 in Abuja depending on the location.”

Speaking on NNPCL quitting role as sole off-taker of Dangote Petrol, Maigandi stressed that oil marketers are waiting to hear from Dangote Refinery on whether petrol could be lifted directly.

Gillis-Harry’s position was not different as he corroborated his counterpart’s submission that Dangote Refinery refused to sell its petrol directly to marketers.

According to him, despite attempts by petroleum marketers to have business discussions with Dangote Refinery, they have not received the green light.

He said the association had attempted to have a business discussion with Dangote Refinery on direct petrol lifting but as of the time of filing this report, the refinery has not given them greenlight.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina said he was not aware of the allegations.

On September 15, the Dangote Refinery announced the inaugural distribution of its petrol with NNPCL as the sole buyer.

Upon the lifting of Dangote Petrol last month, had announced a fresh fuel price hike between N950 and N1,100 per litre across its retail outlets.

The fuel price adjustments came on the back of NNPCL’s stance that it bought Dangote petrol at N898 per liter, however, Dangote disagreed.

The oil firm, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote had hinted that its petrol pump price would be announced by the Presidential Implementation Committee on Naira-for-crude sales.

However, despite the kick-off of the Naira-for-crude with the expected supply of 24 million barrels by October and November 2024 by the Nigerian government, the price per liter of Dangote Petrol has remained a subject of controversy.

Last month, the House of Representatives urged Dangote Refinery to allow oil marketers to lift its petrol directly.

Earlier, refiners and marketers had hinted that the commencement of the Naira-for-crude sales deal with Dangote Refinery and other refineries would lead to a drop in the pump price of petrol.

By Rania Gule Senior Market Analyst

Gold prices dropped sharply yesterday, starting Wednesday’s trading at $2,617 after a strong U.S. jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve may slow down its rate cuts.

negatively impacted gold, which offered no yield. Additionally, news reports suggesting support from parties in the Middle East conflict for efforts to achieve a ceasefire prompted investors to take profits.

The prospects of easing tensions shifted capital from safe-haven assets like gold to higher-risk assets such as stocks.

At the same time, gold is facing additional pressure from rising U.S. Treasury yields, which remained above 4% following the strong non-farm payroll report. I expect that any reduction in geopolitical tensions will lead to continued selling of gold, especially if U.S. stocks keep gaining amid improved market sentiment.

As investors await U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes, any further hints about policy stability could push gold prices even lower, particularly if the Fed takes a more cautious approach to rate cuts.

The yellow metal has declined for six consecutive days and remains below the key support level of $2,630. In my view, gold is influenced by several fundamental factors, including the strength of the U.S. dollar, investor expectations of upcoming monetary policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, and recent geopolitical developments.

With the market waiting for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and U.S. inflation figures, the main question remains: which direction will gold prices take in the coming period?

I believe many traders are preferring to wait before making significant decisions on gold until the release of the Fed minutes.

The minutes are expected to provide a clearer view of the likely path for rate cuts in the U.S. Inflation numbers due in the coming days could also be critical, as their impact will closely align with the Fed’s stance on rate reductions.

Historically, gold prices tend to move inversely to the U.S. dollar; rate cuts usually weaken the dollar and increase demand for gold as a safe-haven asset.

Currently, the U.S. dollar index (DXY) is near a seven-week high, adding pressure on gold prices.

A stronger dollar reinforces the view that the Federal Reserve may not be in a hurry to make significant rate cuts, especially as expectations of a large reduction at the upcoming November meeting have eased.

This scenario, along with a potential ceasefire in the Middle East, has reduced gold’s short-term appeal as a haven.

From an economic and fundamental perspective, it is expected that the Federal Reserve will gradually slow the pace of rate cuts.

Investors are factoring in over an 85% chance that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points at the November meeting. If that happens, we might see stability or even a rebound in gold prices, especially if economic conditions remain weak and inflation continues to gradually decline.

Many Federal Reserve officials have recently stated that the current monetary policy aims to control inflation without harming economic growth, which may limit gold’s short-term rise. In my opinion, U.S. Treasury yields play a key role in influencing gold.

The yield on 10-year bonds has surpassed 4%, increasing the pressure on non-yielding gold. When yields are high, investors prefer to hold assets that provide direct returns, such as bonds, over non-yielding assets like gold.

On the geopolitical front, recent reports of a possible ceasefire in the Middle East have provided some relative easing of tensions in the region. While geopolitical conflicts usually support gold as a haven, any positive developments in this area could contribute to further pressure on the yellow metal.

In my view, gold remains in an unstable position for now, as investors closely watch the FOMC minutes and upcoming inflation data. These events could be pivotal in determining gold’s direction in the coming weeks. Despite the current pressures, any indication of easing inflation or U.S. monetary policy could provide new support for gold.

However, the biggest challenge remains how gold will cope with a strong dollar and high bond yields. Therefore, expectations are tied to upcoming economic and geopolitical developments.