The NGOs welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to completely overturn the convictions of de Pasquale and Spadaro, describing the ruling as a total vindication of the prosecutors.
The long-running controversy surrounding the OPL 245 oil block deal has entered a new phase after non-governmental organisations involved in monitoring the case announced that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has undertaken to investigate allegations of political interference by the Italian state in the prosecution of oil giants Eni and Shell.
The development follows a landmark ruling by Italy's Supreme Court on June 18, 2026, which overturned the convictions of two lead Milan prosecutors, Fabio de Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, who had spearheaded the corruption case against Eni, Shell and other defendants over the controversial Nigerian oil block.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, Corner House (United Kingdom), Hawkmoth (Netherlands), Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) (Nigeria), and ReCommon (Italy) said the Supreme Court's decision had opened "a new chapter" in the OPL 245 saga rather than bringing the matter to an end.
According to the organisations, the OECD Working Group on Bribery had previously assured civil society groups that it would examine concerns about political interference in the handling of the OPL 245 case once legal proceedings against the two prosecutors were concluded.
