By:Staff writer
Trade unionists, research experts and directors of the international think-tank, Transparency International have piled pressure against Icelandic fishing giant, Samherji, demanding restorative justice.
They also accused Samherji of carrying on with its operations with impunity three years after the disclosure of the Fishrot scandal in Namibia.
Eighteen of these experts have signed a document in which they are demanding Samherji to submit to a process of reparation and remediation.
These include labour research expert Hebert Jauch, senior journalist Jemima Beukes, Bodil executive director of Transparency International Greenland Karlshøj Poulsen , civil society veteran activist Carola Engelbrecht, unionist Mahongora Kavihuha, director of the Legal Assistance Centre Toni Hancox, Action Coalition’s Frederico Links, Namibia Media Trust’s Zoe Titus, and others.
Collectively, they have said the reparation and remediation must include an assessment of the human rights and economic impact of Samherji’s Namibian activities; full reparation to affected communities; and an operational grievance mechanism to address specific issues of local communities and individuals.
They have also demanded that Samherji’s international suppliers, customers, and business partners must review their arrangements with Samherji, in particular, in light of their increasing ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and ethical supply chain obligations and expectations.
The experts further want the Icelandic authorities to initiate criminal proceedings and take active steps to address corruption carried out by Icelandic citizens.
Pressure has also been exerted on Namibian authorities who have been asked to introduce further governance reform.
They must be carried out particularly by amending the Marine Resources Act, which, according to the experts, enabled Fishrot as well as to bring those responsible to trial as soon as possible, including applying to extradite the Icelandic suspects without further delay.
Another demand is that international governments, including the US, the UK, Germany, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway and the Faroe Islands, must take all available steps to ensure that proceeds of crime are not entering their economies through Samherji’s international investments made using proceeds of its Namibian business.
“It is time for all stakeholders to prove their commitment to fighting corruption and bring justice and reparation to the people of Namibia,” said the eighteen authorities.
Three years ago, on 12 November, the scandal broke out in the media, becoming the biggest ever in both Namibia and Iceland.
The experts have said that over 30,000 leaked documents revealed how, since 2012, Iceland’s largest fishing company Samherji had paid millions of dollars to political figures and their associates in Namibia to divert fishing quotas away from local businesses and inflate its own financial performance and profitability.
“Fishrot is the largest corruption scandal in both Namibian and Icelandic history. The value of transactions flagged as suspicious by Namibia’s Financial Intelligence Centre in connection with the Fishrot scheme is reported to be around US$650 million.”
“This has had a devastating impact on Namibia’s fishing industry, local fishing communities and broader economy. Thousands of local fishermen are thought to have lost their jobs. The impact will undoubtedly be felt for generations.”
“Three years on, Samherji acts with apparent impunity while the communities affected by Fishrot have seen no meaningful compensation and the perpetrators have not yet faced justice. In Namibia, ten Namibian suspects are facing trial, including the former Fisheries Minister, Bernhard Esau, and the ex-Minister of Justice, Sakeus Shanghala,” they highlighted.
The Namibian Prosecutor General has brought charges against three Icelandic Samherji executives, but the experts have decried that no steps have been taken to extradite these individuals.
They have highlighted that in Iceland, no formal charges have been laid against Icelandic suspects.
“Instead, Icelandic police are investigating journalists reporting on Samherji, undermining press freedom and anti-corruption efforts. The Icelandic response to Fishrot has been called “almost embarrassing” by Drago Kos, Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions. This is unacceptable and more must be done,” they said.
Pressure Piled On Icelandic Fishing Giants Three Years After Fishrot Scandal
