A local court has found Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem and a former CEO guilty of corruption in a long-running trial over bribes in Algeria, but has acquitted Italian energy giant Eni, Saipem’s largest shareholder.

In a ruling on 19 September, the court in Milan sentenced one-time Saipem CEO Pietro Tali to four years and nine months in prison and seized $231m from the company. Saipem was also fined €400,000 ($468,066).

In the same ruling, the court acquitted Eni, its former CEO Paolo Scaroni and its current upstream head Antonio Vella.

Under Italian law, companies are responsible for the actions of their managers and can be fined if found guilty.

The long-running case revolves around allegations that Saipem paid intermediaries about $232m to secure contracts worth $9.35bn with Algeria’s state-owned energy firm Sonatrach.

Prosecutors claimed money was also paid to allow Eni to get a green light from Algeria’s energy ministry to buy Canadian oil and gas company First Calgary Petroleums, which held rights to Algeria’s Menzel gas field.

Saipem said in a statement it reserved the right to appeal the decision once the reasons underpinning it had been made known within 90 days. Tali has previously denied any wrongdoing.

"Eni welcomes today’s judgment of acquittal on the grounds there was no case to answer", the Italian energy major said in a statement.

Scaroni, currently deputy chairman of Rothschild and chairman of Italian soccer club AC Milan, said he was pleased with the decision.

In February, prosecutors had asked for a jail sentence of six years and four months for Scaroni, and five years and four months for Vella.

Saipem is jointly controlled by Eni and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. When Scaroni was Eni CEO it was 43 per cent owned by the energy major, with its current stake being 30 per cent.