Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell said on Friday it is being investigated by the Dutch public prosecution department in connection with disputes over an oil prospecting licence in Nigeria.

‘We have been informed … that they are nearing the conclusion of their investigation and are preparing to prosecute Royal Dutch Shell for criminal charges,’ the company said in a short statement.

The charges related directly or indirectly to the 2011 settlement of disputes over a prospecting licence, Shell said.  The licence concerned, OPL 245, was bought jointly by Shell and Italy’s Eni and is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Italy and in London.

Shell and Eni bought the licence for some €1.3bn from a company owned by a former government minister.  It is alleged that about $1.1 billion of the money paid for the oil block was siphoned off to agents and middlemen.

In December, an Italian judge said Shell and Eni were fully aware that the deal would result in corrupt payments to Nigerian politicians and officials.

Shell and Eni have previously denied any wrongdoing.

In December the government of Nigeria filed a $1.09 billion claim against Shell and ENI in London, alleging that both companies engaged in bribery and unlawful conspiracy.

In addition, a federal high court in Lagos is currently hearing a case brought by human rights groups which wants the federal government to revoke OPL 245.