On 12 November 2019,
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...
began publishing what it called the Fishrot Files ( is, Samherjaskjölin), a collection of thousands of documents and email communication by employees of one of Iceland's largest fish industry companies,
Samherji, that indicated that the company had paid hundreds of millions
ISK to high ranking politicians and officials in
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...
with the objective of acquiring the country's coveted fishing quota. That same day,
Jóhannes Stefánsson, the former general manager of Samherji in Namibia and a whistleblower working with anti-corruption authorities in Namibia, and other countries, stated on the investigative TV-program Kveikur on
RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization.
Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...
that Samherji's CEO and biggest shareholder, Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, authorized the bribe payments.
The scandal also reached Norway when it was revealed that its biggest bank,
Den Norske Bank, was involved in transferring money used in the alleged bribes.
On 15 November 2019,
Fréttablaðið
''Fréttablaðið'' ( en, The Newspaper) is a free Icelandic newspaper. It is distributed five days per week.
History and profile
''Fréttablaðið'' was established in 2001. It was originally owned primarily by the media group ''365''. The paper ...
published a story about an email exchange between the general manager of Síldarvinnslan hf., Gunnþór Ingvason, and Samherji employees, Aðalsteinn Helgason, Jóhannes Stefánsson, and an unidentified third man. Fréttablaðið stated that Gunnþór asked for advice on behalf of
Henrik Leth, the chairman of
Polar Seafood
Polar may refer to:
Geography
Polar may refer to:
* Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates
*Polar climate, the cli ...
, the largest private fish industry company in
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...
, on conning fishing quota out of authorities in Greenland and pointed to their experience in Namibia. At that time, Síldarvinnslan and Polar Seafood owned together with the
East Greenland Codfish
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from ...
company. Both Gunnþór and Leth stated that the email had been taken out of context and pointed out that the full transcript clearly states that a third party had voiced interest in building a fish factory in
Ammasalik
Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik and Angmagssalik, is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,985 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the List of cities and towns in Gr ...
on the east coast of Greenland, something they believed was only a ploy to obtain fishing quota from the government. They further stated that the purpose of the email was to obtain information on the potential cost of such buildup, as Samherji had done a similar buildup in Africa, to see if it was feasible.
Reactions
In response to the allegations, Samherji published a statement on 12 November where Jóhannes Stefánsson, the whistleblower and former general manager of the Namibia operation, was accused of solely being behind the alleged bribes and that other high ranking staff members were unaware of his actions. Although Jóhannes did admit to being part of the bribe sceme, further records showed that he never had control of the companies bank accounts in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
, where the money flowed through, and that the alleged bribes continued for three years after he left the company.
On 13 November, Namibia's Minister of Fisheries,
Bernhardt Esau, and
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a Ministry (government department), ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of ju ...
,
Sacky Shanghala, were forced to resign due to their involvement in the scandal.
On 14 November, the board of Samherji announced that Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson had temporary stepped aside as CEO and would be replaced by
Björgólfur Jóhannsson while the company conducted an internal investigation on the allegations. Namibian
Investec
Investec is an Anglo-South African international banking and wealth management group. It provides a range of financial products and services to a client base in Europe, Southern Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
Investec is dual-listed on the Londo ...
banker
James Hatuikulipi resigned on the very same day and public enterprise minister
Leon Jooste
Leon Jooste (born 18 February 1969 in Grootfontein, Otjozondjupa Region) is a Namibian politician and businessperson who served as Minister of Public Enterprises until 1 December 2022.
Education and early life
Jooste attended school at Paul ...
announced further action within the public fishing industry.
On 15 November, member of
Alþingi
The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembl ...
for
Miðflokkurinn
The Centre Party ( is, Miðflokkurinn) is a Nordic agrarian and populist political party in Iceland established in September 2017. It split from the Progressive Party due to leadership disputes, when two factions decided to band up as a new part ...
and former Icelandic
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between countr ...
,
Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, accused
RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization.
Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...
and
Stundin
''Stundin'' is an Icelandic bi-weekly newspaper known for investigative journalism. It takes the form of both an online newspaper and a news magazine. It was founded in 2015 by former staff of DV after a hostile takeover of the paper. It was fun ...
of practising
yellow journalism
Yellow journalism and yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include ...
in relation to the scandal and suggested that the government should stop subsidizing private media companies. The same day, protesters marched to the offices of
Namibia's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and demanded the resignation of the head of the ACC,
Paulus Noa, and the arrest of the government officials involved in the scandal.
On 18 November it was reported that due to the investigations, Þorsteinn Már had temporary stepped aside as the chairman of the fishing industry company Framherji, one of the largest fishing industry companies in the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...
and partly owned by Samherji.
On 20 November it was reported that James Hatuikulipi had resigned as chairman of the state owned fish industry company Fishcor due to the scandal.
By December 2019 ''
The Fishrot Six'', Bernhard Esau, Sacky Shanghala, Tamson Hatuikulipi, James Hatuikulipi, Ricardo Gustavo and Pius Mwatelulo, were arrested in Namibia. They stand accused of corruption, fraud, and tax evasion.
Nigel van Wyk was later arrested on charges of money laundering and attempting to obstruct the course of justice.
In February 2020 it was announced that the 6 accused in the Fishrot case would face new additional charges.
In September 2020 the corruption probe into Fischcor by the ACC was said to have been completed. A lead investigator into the Fishrot bribery scandal claimed there was a lack of cooperation from a number of countries and jurisdictions.
On March 1, 2021, a crowd-funding campaign was announced to raise funds for Fishrot whistleblower Jóhannes Stefánsson, who said he believes he was poisoned. The campaign was organised by Whistleblowing International, ANA LOGO, Whistleblower Network News and the
National Whistleblower Center.
References
External links
The Fishrot FilesWhistleblowersblog - Fishrot Scandal: Bribery and Corruption in Namibia’s Fishing Industry
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