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Far from drawing to a close three years after it broke, the Sonatrach corruption scandal is widening as new evidence turns the spotlight on the company’s partners in Italy and Canada, write Oualid Khelifi and John Hamilton.

The multi-donor Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has announced an agreement to provide Nigeria with $50m towards an African Development Bank-supported programme to promote investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency through local banks.

Following the recent bribery conviction against Calgary-based minnow Griffiths Energy International (AE 247/19), amendments to the country’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) were tabled as a government bill (Bill S-14) on 5 February.

The decision by the Milan prosecutor to include Eni and its chief executive, Paolo Scaroni, in its investigation of Saipem’s activities in Algeria has focused attention on a key associate of former energy and mines minister Chakib Khelil.

Italian investigations into allegedly corrupt deals by Saipem in Algeria have extended to the top of parent company Eni and reopened the corruption dossier at state-owned Sonatrach. Fresh revelations have the potential to inflict political damage and place substantial amounts of business under judicial scrutiny, writes John Hamilton

The government is hopeful that the deadlock holding up the introduction of the much-delayed sovereign wealth fund (SWF) will be overcome soon, minister of state for finance Yerima Ngama told the 5 February UK-Nigeria Bilateral Banking, Finance and Investment Development Conference in London.

On 16 January, the African Development Bank (AfDB) priced a $1bn fixed-rate US dollar global benchmark bond due 15 March 2018. The transaction pays a coupon of 0.875% and a spread of five basis points over mid-swaps, equivalent to 20.45 basis points over the UST 0.75% due 31 December 2017.

Madagascar Oil has carried out a share placing and open offer through London-based natural resources investment bank GMP Securities Europe to raise £49.5m ($78.4m) at 18p/share. The offering is fully underwritten by existing shareholders.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) board has approved a $24m equity investment in the Kampala-based East African Development Bank (EADB) to strengthen its balance sheet and help improve its international credit rating.

A bribery conviction against Griffiths Energy International has been welcomed as a sign that Canada is acting to tackle its reputation for being less tough on corruption than the US or UK, even though the company uncovered the payment itself, and reported it to the authorities.

African Barrick Gold (ABG) on 22 January announced the conclusion of negotiations with a commercial banks syndicate led by Standard Bank for the provision of a $142m export credit-backed term loan.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Ghana’s state-owned Volta River Authority (VRA) have completed the $329.6m financing of the Takoradi II expansion project. The financing package was agreed in July 2012 but it has taken time to meet the conditions precedent required before financial close could be reached.

Griffiths Energy International has been hit with a record fine for paying bribes as part of its efforts to secure exploration acreage in Chad, after the company’s new management uncovered evidence of wrongdoing and reported it to Canadian police.

The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced plans to issue a $50m local currency bond (equivalent to 8bn naira) to support Nigeria’s domestic capital markets and increase access to local currency finance. The IFC Naija bond will be the corporation’s first naira-denominated bond and the first placement by a non-resident issuer in the country’s domestic capital markets.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) said on 28 January it had signed final agreements marking the close of the $1.4bn project financing for the expansion of the Jorf Lasfar Electricity Company (JLEL) power plant (AE 234/8). JLEL is already the largest coal-fired power plant in the Middle East and North Africa and the first independent power producer in Morocco, supplying 40% of the kingdom’s electricity output.