![]() Stefánsson was the managing director of Samherji's operation in Namibia from 2013 to 2016. The Wikileaks documents include statements, emails, payment receipts, invoices, bank accounts and affidavits made by Icelandic national Jóhannes Stefánsson. It was not made clear to The Namibian how the masterminds chose the Icelandic company as a “technical partner”. The kickbacks were titled “consulting fees” and paid to Tundavala, Hatuikulipi's Dubai outfit. In return for the discount, Samherji allegedly paid kickbacks to the masterminds who made the deal happen through lobbying and designing the scheme. ![]() Esau, who did not answer specific questions, said there was litigation on the matter but did not elaborate.Īccording to the documents, Namgomar sold the Namibian-donated fishing quotas to Icelandic seafood giant Samherji HF far below the market price. ![]() It is owned by Investec Namibia chief James Hatuikulipi, a long-time friend and business partner of justice minister Shanghala.Įsau and Icelandic seafood company, Samherji HF, have dismissed the information as misrepresentation, a distortion of facts, or false. Fitty Hatuikulipi is married to Esau's daughter Ndapandula.Īt the heart of the kickbacks is a Dubai-registered company, Tundavala, which was used to channel part of the N$150 million in purported “consulting fees”. Yet, the quotas were eventually exploited by private entities and individuals.Īnother businessman mentioned in the documents as a beneficiary of the scheme is Hatuikulipi's cousin, Tamson 'Fitty' Hatuikulipi, who is also Esau's son-in-law. The Namibian reported last month that Gustavo solely runs Namgomar, supposedly a government-to-government joint venture used as a conduit for the licence and quota donations between the governments. Investec Asset Management executive Ricardo Gustavo, who reports to Hatuikulipi, acted as a front for the Angolan government through a company called Namgomar, which received the fishing quota donated by the Namibian ministry of fisheries. It's unclear if the dismissal was related to the Namibian fishing scheme. ![]() ![]() The paper trail also points to the lobbying of top government officials, a company in Dubai, and kickbacks allegedly paid from an Icelandic-owned company based in the tax haven of Cyprus.įormer Angolan fisheries minister Victória de Barros Neto and her son, João de Barros, are also named in documents outlining the scheme.Īngolan president João Lourenço fired Neto from the fisheries portfolio in January this year. Their names are contained in a trough of emails, payment receipts, invoices and banking details provided by WikiLeaks to The Namibian and other international media organisations, including Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit and Icelandic National Television.ĭocuments show that the scheme – linking the governments of Namibia and Angola – involve as much as N$2,5 billion and includes a state-owned company, the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor).Įsau, Shanghala and Hatuikulipi are pinpointed as the masterminds behind a donation of state-to-state fishing licences between 20, but which were used to divert money to individuals in both countries, paid through an Icelandic company. FISHERIES minister Bernhard Esau, justice minister Sacky Shanghala and Investec Namibia's managing director, James Hatuikulipi, are the alleged kingpins in a fishing scheme that generated kickbacks of at least N$150 million over four years. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |