The Court of Algiers has imposed a fine of 34,000 Euros on Saipem SPA, the Italian engineering service provider.
The company says it welcomes “the absolutory content of the decision”, but it will “appeal the condemnatory content of the ruling, resulting in the suspension of its criminal and civil effects”.
The penalty is a result of the Court finding Saipem S.p.A. liable for the crime of “inflating the price on contracts awarded by a public company engaged in industrial and commercial activities, taking advantage of the authority or influence of representatives, to obtain advantageous prices compared to those normally charged, or to modify, to their advantage, the quality of the materials or services or the delivery or supply times”..
The ruling pertains to proceedings related to a 2008 bid for studies of competitive feed for the Rhourde Nouss Field.
“With reference to the claims brought by the Algerian state hydrocarbon company Sonatrach and Trésor Public (the national administration of the Treasury in France) as civil plaintiffs, the Court of Algiers, noted the absence of compensatory claims by Sonatrach against Saipem and upheld in minimal part the claims brought by Trésor Public, recognizing in favour of the latter a compensation for an overall amount of about 680.000 Euros, of which the quota directly pertaining to Saipem S.p.A. is equal to approximately 170,000 Euros”, Saipem says in a statement.
