Norway Charges Oil Firm and Executives Over Alleged Bribery in Congo Republic

Norwegian police have charged an oil company and two executives on suspicion of paying millions of dollars in bribes to close family members of the Congo Republic President, Denis Sassou Nguesso.

The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime said on Monday that the bribes are linked to the president and his close family members, and the value of the bribes is particularly high. The investigation was launched after Monaco police sought legal assistance related to a suspicious bank transaction, with substantial assistance from other countries, including France and the United States.

The accused company, Hemla Africa Holding AS, is a fully owned indirect subsidiary of Oslo-listed oil group PetroNor and controls a 20 per cent stake in the offshore PNGF Sud licence. PetroNor said in a statement that it categorically contested the indictment and welcomed the opportunity to have the case examined in court. The company’s share price fell 9.3 per cent by midday.

MGI International, which was controlled by the president’s family, was given a 25 per cent stake in Hemla E&P Congo. MGI received dividends of close to 25 million dollars between 2018 and 2024, according to the indictment. Other payments took place in parallel with the application for the oil licence in Congo, investigators said.

Norway did not have jurisdiction over the individuals who received the payments, and no consideration had been given to any criminal liability on their part, the police said. The Congolese government and the president’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sassou first came to power in 1979 and ruled until he lost Congo’s first multi-party elections in 1992, before returning to office in 1997 after a civil war.

SOURCE: Reuters