Current and former Shell directors have been added to an English lawsuit against the oil and gas company and its Italian counterpart Eni for corruption in Nigeria. Shell’s former chief executive Peter Voser and Maarten Wetselaar, the head of Shell’s gas branch, among others, would have known that a large payment that Shell would make would in part end up with government officials.

The London case revolves around the OPL 245 oil field. A corrupt oil minister transferred that to his own company. It was later taken away and then awarded to Shell and Eni. Shell and Eni paid $ 1.1 billion for that.

Nigeria states that it was a bribe and wants $ 1 billion in compensation and the rights to extract oil from the field. Shell denies that something improper has happened. If a bribe has already been paid, it has happened without the company’s knowledge, a spokeswoman said.

In addition to the London case, there is also a criminal case in Milan. The Public Prosecution Service is also preparing a criminal case against Shell.