On April 17, 2020, the SEC instituted settled cease-and-desist proceedings against Eni S.p.A. The SEC stated: "Between 2007 and 2010, Saipem S.p.A. ("Saipem"), a subsidiary controlled by Eni S.p.A. ("Eni"), which at the time held a 43% interest in Saipem, entered into four sham contracts with an intermediary to assist in obtaining contracts awarded by Algeria's state owned oil company. Saipem conducted little or no due diligence before entering into the contracts, received no legitimate services from the intermediary, and falsely characterized its payments to the intermediary as lawful "brokerage fees" in its books and records, which were consolidated into Eni's during the relevant period. As a consequence, Eni, an Italian multinational oil and gas company whose American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA")."

The SEC "announced that Eni S.p.A., an Italian multinational oil and gas company whose ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, agreed to settle charges that it violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with an improper payment scheme in Algeria by Eni's 43% minority-owned and controlled subsidiary at the time, Saipem S.p.A. Eni is a recidivist, having been previously charged by the SEC in 2010 for violating the same FCPA provisions in connection with a bribery scheme in Nigeria by its then-whollyowned subsidiary Snamprogetti Netherlands, B.V."