When the whistleblowing report reached Eni’s headquarters

Over the past few weeks, I have presented documents demonstrating the irregularities and unlawful conduct I identified at the Cuiabá Regional Sales Office, the limitations of the Internal Audit Report issued by Eni's Brazilian subsidiary, and several conflicts of interest that, in my view, should also have been examined.

But the story did not end with my dismissal.

One year later, I realized that the matter could no longer be addressed solely within Agip do Brasil.

On August 1, 2002, I sent a letter directly to Eni's Board of Directors in Italy.

The letter was addressed to the Chairman of the company, the CEO, the members of the Board of Directors, as well as the Division General Managers, the executives of Agip Petroli, and the Board of Statutory Auditors.

In that letter, I did not present a new version of the facts.

Instead, I sought to demonstrate that the way my whistleblowing report had been handled was incompatible with the principles that Eni itself declared to uphold in its Code of Ethics.

I explained that I had reported, in good faith, violations of the Eni Group's Code of Ethics and that, only a few weeks later, I had been dismissed.

I also stated that the retaliation I suffered was inconsistent with the ethical commitments publicly assumed by the company.

Throughout the letter, I raised questions that remained unanswered.

🔹 I asked why the company's internal channels had punished the employee who had reported the irregularities.

🔹 I asked what the company intended to conceal by dismissing an employee who had acted in accordance with the principles set forth in its own Code of Ethics.

🔹 And I asked how far the consequences of the corruption scheme and internal fraud I had identified might extend.

I also reminded Eni's directors of one of the fundamental principles set forth in the company's own Code of Ethics:

📌 "No belief that one is acting in ENI's best interests can ever justify conduct that is contrary to these principles".

My objective was - and still is - simple.

To ask Eni's headquarters to examine the documents in light of the principles that the company itself had established in its Code of Ethics.

After twenty-five years, I continue to ask for exactly the same thing:

🔴 that all the documentation be examined independently, impartially, and transparently.


❎ Learn more:

1️⃣ Letter to ENI's Board of Directors (August 1, 2002):
🔹 Original in Italian
🔹 English translation

2️⃣ Registered Mail Acknowledgment of Receipt (August 5, 2002)